Category Archives: Television

Dec 15 2023
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Books, Movies, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Dec. 15 – Dec. 21

Mark Wahlberg in a killer role, Willie Nelson’s birthday bash & celebrating Dick Van Dyke

FRIDAY, Dec. 15

The Family Plan
Mark Wahlberg stars in this new action comedy (above) as a car salesman dad confronting his past—as an elite government assassin—without revealing his long-hidden identity. With Michelle Monaghan (Apple TV+)

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
New stop-motion animated comedy, a spinoff of the original 2000 tale of “fowl play,” features more tales from the coop with voices of Imelda Staunton, Thandie Newton, Zachary Levi and Miranda Richardson (Netflix).

The National Christmas Tree Lighting
Light up your holiday mood with this annual TV special with an all-star lineup of performers at President’s Park in Washington, D.C. (8 p.m., CBS).

SATURDAY, Dec. 16
Small Town Christmas
Inside Edition’s Megan Alexander hosts season three of this spotlight on the expressions of fun, decorations, entertainment and faith of community Christmas celebrations across America (2 p.m., Fox Business News).

Luminaire Christmas
John Blasucci, formerly of Mannheim Steamroller, leads a rocking evening of reimagined hits and new seasonal songs with performances by artists from American Idol, The Voice, Blue Man Group and more (7:30 p.m., AXS TV).

SUNDAY, Dec. 17
The Sound of Music
The hills are alive, again, this holiday season for the annual TV airing of the feel-good 1965 classic (above), based on the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer (7 p.m., ABC).

Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration
A host of stars come out to fete the iconic singer songwriter in this musical event, including The Chicks, Sheryl Crow, Snoop Dogg, Keith Richards, George Strait and Chris Stapleton. Hosted by Jennifer Garner, Chelsea Handler, Ethan Hawke, Helen Mirren and Owen Wilson (8:30 p.m., CBS).

MONDAY, Dec. 18
Mary Berry’s Highland Christmas
Join the Scottish cook (above) in her homeland as she prepares iconic holiday dishes with her celebrity foodie friends (9 p.m., PBS).

TUESDAY, Dec. 19
The Price is Right: Holiday Heroes
Military heroes compete for cash and prizes in this special edition of the game show (8 p.m., CBS).

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 20
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
New series, based on the best-selling books by Rick Riordan, launches tonight with a two-episode premier about a 12-year-old kid (Walker Scobell) who’s actually a demigod accused by Zeus of stealing a lightning bolt, causing chaos and disorder in Olympus. With Lin-Manuel Miranda, Megan Mullaly and Jay Duplass (Disney+)

Maestro
Bradley Cooper (above) gives an Oscar-worthy performance (and directs!) as iconic classical-music composer Leonard Bernstein in this tale of his lifelong love to his wife Felicia (Carey Mulligan). If you missed it in theaters, you can see it now streaming (Netflix).

BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star
Eight-part docuseries the roots, rise and phenomenal success of the South Korean boy band that’s been capturing young hearts and amassing worldwide fans since 1983 (Disney+).

THURSDAY, Dec. 21
iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour Presented by Capitol One
It’s a cumbersome title (duh, wonder who the sponsor is?) but this holiday musical special tight with with performances by Usher, Olivia Rodrigo, One Republic, Jelly Role and more (8 p.m., ABC).

Dr Death
Mandy Moore and Edgar Ramirez star in season two of this new series, based on the hit podcast about a charming young surgeon with deep secrets (Peacock).

Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic
This all-star tribute celebrates the acting icon’s milestone birthday as it time-travels back to the set of Van Dyke’s groundbreaking TV series of the 1960 with songs, special guests and lots of holiday magic and memories of his roles in Mary Poppins, Bye Bye Birdie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and more (9 p.m., CBS).

READ ALL ABOUT IT


How did a raucous song from a festival all about drinking, gambling, fighting and sex become a cherished holiday classic? Pour yourself a cup of good cheer and find out in The 12 Days of Christmas: The Outlaw Carol That Wouldn’t Die (McFarland) by Harry Rand, a former Harvard prof who now works as a senior curator for the Smithsonian Institution.

BRING IT HOME


He was TV’s top cop a few decades ago, and now you own Columbo: The 1970s (KL Studio Classics), starring Peter Falk as the rumpled LA detective who made primetime a lot safer (and much more entertaining). This five-disc set includes seven full seasons of the show, with guest stars including Dick Van Dyke, William Shatner, Johnny Cash, Janet Leigh and Leonard Nimoy, and some episodes directed by Steven Spielberg!

Dec 08 2023
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Books, DVDs, Movies, Television, TV

The Entertainment Forecast

Dec. 8 – Dec. 14

Monk cracks a new case, Julia Roberts meets the end of the world & Neil Patrick Harris collides with Dr. Who!

FRIDAY, Dec. 8
Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie
Tony Shalhoub returns to his fan-favorite TV role (above), 12 years later, in this feature-length film as his crime-solving OCD character returns to solve another case, this one involving his beloved stepdaughter, Molly (Melora Hardin), as she prepares for her wedding (Netflix).

Leave The World Behind
Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, Chris Evans and Kevin Bacon are among the all-star cast of this drama about a family vacation that turns into an apocalyptic nightmare after a cyberattack (Netflix).

It’s the end of the world, and Julia Roberts knows it.

A Very Demi Holiday Special
Pop star Demi Levato hosts this all-star Christmas party (below) with celebrity friends including Tiffany Haddish, Paris Hilton and Rich Eisen (Roku Channel).

SATURDAY, Dec. 9
Byron Allen Presents Funny You Should Ask
The primetime special presentation of the hit game show features four half-hour episodes with comedians Adam Corolla, Whitney Cummings, Billy Gardell, Natasha Leggero, Jon Lovitz and others (8 p.m., CBS).

Dr. Who: The Giggle
TV’s 14th doctor (David Tennant, below) comes face-to-face with his most terrifying villain, the Toymaker (played by Neil Patrick Harris) (Disney+).

SUNDAY, Dec. 10
A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop
Queen Latifah, Questlove, LL Cool J, Yo-Yo and many others help celebrate the milestone anniversary and the genre’s profound cultural impact in this two-hour tribute special (8 p.m., CBS).

Science Fair: The Series
Students work to solve the world’s most complex and pressing problems in this new docu-drama based on the most competitive science fair on the planet (National Geographic).

MONDAY, Dec. 11
How to Have an American Baby
An intimate look at an industry you likely didn’t even know about: “birth tourism” for Chinese women who want to have their babies born in the United States (check local listings, PBS).

The Billion Dollar Goal
How did soccer become such a big deal in America? This probing new docuseries traces the sport from its humble beginnings as an immigrants’ game to the historic moment in 1989 when an unforgettable goal ended a 40-year World Cup qualification drought, all against the backdrop of a nation that remained, for decades, skeptical about “European football” (Paramount+). 

TUESDAY, Dec. 12
Dark Harvest
In this horror thriller (above) directed by David Spade, teens confront a legendary supernatural specter that emerges from the cornfields of a small Midwest town every fall (8 p.m., MGM+).

Kevin Hart & Chris Rock: Headliners Only
New documentary follows the high-profile actor/comedians as they stir up new laughs together on a tour (Netflix).

Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town
It’s a holiday classic! Fred Astaire narrates this timeless 1970 animated tale about St. Nick (Mickey Rooney) as a young boy with an intense desire to do good things for others (8 p.m., ABC).

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 13
Bart Starr: America’s Quarterback
This latest installment of the SEC Storied franchise focuses on one of the greatest QBs in the history of the sport (above), who led the Green Bay Packers to five NFL championships then went on to coach them to victory in the first two Super Bowls (9 p.m., SEC network).

THURSDAY, Dec. 14
CMA Country Christmas
The 14th annual TV event, filmed in front of a live audience, features performances of Christmas classics by country stars including hosts Trisha Yearwood and Amy Grant, plus Lainey Wilson, Zach Williams, The War and Treaty and more (8 p.m., ABC).

The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Rhony Legacy
Original “housewives” reunite for a new season and an epic adventure in the Caribbean (Peacock).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Spin (McFarland) by Bill Gruber takes a spin (get it?) through the world of things that spin—like the world, figure skaters, curve balls, drill bits, propellers, washing machines—and explains the engaging physics, science and philosophy behind them. It might even make your head spin!

BRING IT HOME

It’s a wild ride in Weird: The Weird Al Story (Shout! Factory), a “fictionalized” biopic of the zany song parodist and comedian starring Daniel Radcliffe, Evan Rachel Wood and Rainn Wilson. And a big part of the fun is the long list of all-star cameo appearances!

A grassroots movement of videogamers turns the table on stock-market fat cats in Dumb Money (Sony Home Entertainment), a modern-day David-and-Goliath tale based on a true story and real-life characters, played by Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Nick Offeman, Pete Davidson, Shalilene Woodley and others.

Dec 01 2023
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Books, DVDs, Music, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Dec. 1 – Dec. 7

Eddie Murphy gets the Christmas spirit, Archie and Jughead go to India & Geddy Lee is all about that bass

Eddie Murphy stars this week in the Netflix Christmas comedy ‘Candy Cane Lane.’

FRIDAY, Dec. 1
Candy Candy Lane
Eddie Murphy has made just about every kind of movie, except a Christmas holiday comedy. And now he’s done that too! In this bright blast of yule-y fun, he plays a man determined to win his neighborhood’s annual house-decoration contest, making a deal with a pesky elf (Jillian Belle) for some Christmas magic that takes a manic turn. With Tracee Ellis Ross, Nick Offerman and Ken Marino (Netflix).

The Unbelievable with Dan Aykroyd
The movie funnyman and SNL comedy pioneer (below) hosts this new docuseries, probing into some of history’s most unusual and bizarro mysteries—like the Great Molasses Flood of 1919, or a plague of killer dancing (10 p.m., History).

SATURDAY, Dec. 2
A Christmas Story Christmas
The recent movie sequel to the 1983 holiday classic comes now to TV, starring several of the original cast members in a modern-day update to the tale of a little boy who just wanted a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas (10 p.m., TBS).

Thriller 40
Has it really been four decades since Michael Jackson “thrilled” us with his 1983 hit single and album of the same name? This new documentary takes you behind the scenes of how a recording became a musical milestone for the ages (8 p.m., Showtime).

May December
Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton star in this new movie (above)—loosely based on the real-world tabloid scandal of convicted sex offender Mary Kay Letourneau—about a woman who committed a similar crime and the TV actress preparing to play her in a new movie (Netflix).

NOW HEAR THIS

The Queen of Soul reigns supreme in Aretha Franklin: A Portrait of the Queen 1970-1974, a lavish new box set of five of her classic albums from that era, plus session outtakes, B-sides and demos. Relive the funk and firepower of Aretha’s classic hits like “Son of a Preacherman,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” and “You’re All I need to Get By,” plus deep cuts including the Queen’s takes on “Spanish Harlem,” “At Last,” “The Long and Winding Road” and The Band’s “The Weight.” 

SUNDAY, Dec. 3
Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen
British historian Lucy Worsley (below) travels the world in this new limited series that follows the footsteps and the secret life of the enigmatic writer who revolutionized the genre of detective fiction (8 p.m., PBS).

Chowchilla
Documentary about the chilling true story of one of the strangest kidnappings of all time, when three masked men boarded a school bus in 1976, taking 26 children and their driver—and burying them all in a remote underground chamber. Find out how they escaped, and how the event continues to haunt them (9 p.m., CNN). 

MONDAY, Dec. 4
The Big Bake
Contestant cooks capture the cuteness of the North Pole with goodies adorned with seasonal, winter-wonderland decorations (11 p.m., Food Network).

TUESDAY, Dec. 5
Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too?
In this new musical docuseries, the Rush band member (and bass player!) powwows at home with some of musicdom’s most famous fellow bassists and digs into their groovy stories (Paramount+)

The Canterville Ghost
Huge Laurie, Freddie Highmore and Toby Jones are among the voices you’ll hear in this animated, family-friendly reimagining of the Oscar Wilde classic about a family who moves into a haunted house in England (VOD).

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 6
Hollywood Houselift With Jeff Lewis
Lewis, who formerly hosted Bravo’s Flipping Out, returns for another season of this celebrity-digs redo series, with clients including Christina Ricci, Josh Duhamel and Regina Hall (Freevee).

THURSDAY, Dec. 7
We Live Here: The Midwest
Documentary spotlights families from America’s heartland who would love to stay but face challenges because of who they are, in the face of a rising tide of discrimination and hate in their churches, schools and neighborhoods (Hulu).

My Life with the Walter Boys
Heartwarming coming-of-age series (above, from the producers of The Kissing Booth) follows a teenage girl (Nikki Rodriguez) who relocates after a tragic accident from New York City to rural Colorado, where she develops feelings for two very different brothers (Netflix). 

Christmas at the Opry
Wynonna Judd hosts this festive, two-hour celebration of Christmas classics, holiday favorites and some of today’s biggest hits, from Nashville’s iconic Grand Ole Opry House (8 p.m., NBC).

The Archies
The retro comic book characters (Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, et al) get reimagined in this new live-action series (above) as 1960s teens in India in the fictional town of Riverdale—at least that hasn’t changed! (Netflix).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Sure, you know Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Batman and Tarzan. But what about Waku, Prince of the Bantu… Jann of the Jungle… or Mars, the God of War? They’re all here, along with hundreds of others in Lou Mougin’s excellent Secondary Superheroes of Golden Age Comics (McFarland), a thorough (and thoroughly entertaining) scholarly rundown of lesser-known do-gooders from the 1930s through the ‘50s.

Hey, ol’ Scratch is is good company in the Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures (McFarland) by Theresa Bane. The author, a professional vampirologist, catalogues nearly 3,000 unholy terrors from the mythologies and lore of virtually every ancient society and religion. A few of my personal faves: Abaddown, the demonic angel from the bottomless pit of Sheol; the Daitya-Yuga, with a track record for trouble stretching across more than 1.5 billion years; and Paymon, the host and emcee of hell. It’s a busy underworld out there! 

He was the Beatles’ loyal friend, longtime roadie and personal friend. Find all about Mal Evans and his world in the inner circle of the legendary British band in Kevin Womack’s Living with the Beatles (Dey Street), which sometimes included jumping into recording session and even helping the Fab Four write songs. It’s a fascinating glimpse behind the Beatles’ curtain.

BRING IT HOME

Ahead of the Christmas Day theatrical release of the new remake, now you can own director Steven Spielberg’s 1995 original. The Color Purple (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), was nominated for 11 Oscars and marked the acting debut of Oprah Winfrey and the movie breakthrough of Whoopi Goldberg. The new 4K HD set includes several special features, including a making-of doc.

Nov 17 2023
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Books, DVDs, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Nov. 17 – Nov. 23

John Hamm is a bad hombre lawman in the new season of Fargo.

FRIDAY, Nov. 17
Please Don’t Destroy: The Legend of Foggy Mountain
Conan O’Brien and Bowen Yang make supporting appearances in this new Judd (Superbad) Apatow comedy romp about a trio of childhood friends fending off bears, a crazy cult leader and park rangers as they head into the wilderness in search of a fabled treasure (Peacock).

Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story
Documentary follows the actor/director (above) and movie mogul as it recounts the mother’s enduring love at the roots of his climb to the top of an industry that didn’t always want to include him (Prime).

Dashing Through the Snow
Rapper Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Madison Skye Validum and Lil Rey Howery star in this holiday family comedy about an Atlanta social worker and his Christmas Eve journey with his estranged daughter that helps him find the joy and magic of the holidays (Disney+).

Monarch: A Legacy of Monsters
Kurt Russell and his actor son, Wyatt, star in this generation-spanning series (with both Russells playing the same character, decades apart) based on the movie’s “Monsterverse,” where creatures like Godzilla and King Kong roar and rule (above) (Apple TV+).

SATURDAY, Nov. 18
Christmas Plus One
Emily Alatalo and Corey Seiver star in this holiday flick about an unmarried sister looking for her soulmate and the magazine writer who helps her Christmas wish come true (9 p.m., Lifetime).

Kennedy
Peter Coyote narrates this eight-part documentary about our 35th U.S. president, timed to the 60th anniversary of his assassination and featuring more than 70 new interviews with people who knew him, worked with him and admired him (8 p.m., History).  

SUNDAY, Nov. 19
The Elf on the Shelf: Sweet Showdown
New competition series finds Santa and his Scout Elves joining cake master Duff Goldman to challenge teams of sweet-centric bakers to make edible showpieces that capture the season (8 p.m., Food Network).

The Cunninghams wish you a Merry Christmas!

A Very Merry MeTV
Beginning tonight and continuing (off and on) until Christmas, watch holiday-themed episodes of your favorite retro TV shows, including The Brady Bunch, The Waltons, All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Twilight Zone, Gilligan’s Island, The Beverly Hillbillies, Happy Days (above) and more (begins 12 noon, MeTV). 

MONDAY, Nov. 20
Spellbound
New teen fantasy series follows a vivacious 15 year old girl (Hailey Melody Romain) who relocates from America to study at the Paris Opera School in France, where she discovers a book of spells that changes her life and illuminates her surprising true identity (Hulu).

Wisdom Gone Wild
A filmmaker collaborates with her elderly mother as they confront the “wisdom” gleaned from the creeping shadows of dementia, in this moving documentary (check listings, PBS).

TUESDAY, Nov. 21
Fargo
Jon Hamm, Juno Temple and Jennifer Jason Leigh are among the cast for the fifth installment of the juicy, award-winning progressive crime drama, this time set almost-contemporary Minnesota and the Dakotas. And tonight’s episode—and the whole new series, actually—has some cool “callbacks” to events in the iconic 1996 Coen Brothers movie that started it all (10 p.m., FX).

Leo
Adam Sandler, Jason Alexander, Cecily Strong, Bill Burr and other funny folks provide voices in this cute animated coming-of-age age tale (above) centered on a classroom pet, a 74-year-old lizard (Netflix).

Groundbreakers
Learn how Title IX—the game-changing legislation that guaranteed all people, regardless of gender, equal access to federally funded sports programs—shaped the lives of eight young woman who went on to excel in the fields of tennis, basketball, soccer, gymnastics and flag football (check local listings, PBS).

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 22
Good Burger 2
New sequel to the ‘90s hit (based on a Nickelodeon comedy series) stars Kenan Thompson, Jillian Bell, Lil Rel Howery and Kel Mitchell as employees at a fast-food chain (Paramount+).

Squid Game: The Challenge
New spinoff of the streaming hit series as new challengers enter the competition in hopes of a nearly $5 million reward that would change their lives—if the “Challenge” doesn’t end them (Netflix).

Genie
Melissa McCarthy stars in this holiday fantasy (above) about an ancient genie summoned for an unlikely mission—to help a man (Paapa Essiedu) who’s lost sight of his marriage and his family (Peacock).

THURSDAY, Nov. 23
The Naughty Nine
Danny Glover stars as Santa in this movie comedy about a group of youngsters planning a heist of Santa’s North Pole village to get the presents they think they deserve (Disney+).

The Thanksgiving Day Parade on CBS
Kick off the holiday with this annual network coverage of one of New York City’s iconic celebrations, a festive process down Sixth Avenue with jolly old St. Nick himself bringing up the rear (9 p.m., CBS).

NOW HEAR THIS

Is there anything she can’t do? Dolly Parton tears it up with some of rock ‘n’ roll’s legendary artists for her latest album, Rockstar, including Sting (on “Every Breath You Take”), Ann Wilson of Heart (“Magic Man”), Peter Frampton (“Baby I Love Your Way”), Deborah Harry of Blondie (“Heart of Glass”), Paul McCartney (“Let It Be”), Pat Benetar (“Heartbreaker”), members of Lynyrd Skynyrd (“Free Bird”) and more on this 30-song collection, that proves why, Dolly, we will always love you.

BRING IT HOME

Now you soar with season one of the Apple TV+ sci-fi drama series For All Mankind (Sony Home Entertainment)—with Joel Kinnaman, Casey Johnson and Shantel VanStanten among the big ensemble cast—as rocket scientists and astronauts push the boundaries of space exploration.

The highly acclaimed movie about the man who invented the atomic bomb and unleashed it into the world comes to Blu-ray and DVD with Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment), with more than three hours of special features.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

If you love Hollywood history, you’ll flip for George Hurrell’s Hollywood (Running Press), the newly updated edition of vintage Tinseltown portraits taken by the great Hollywood “glamour” photographer of the 1920s and ’30. Hurrell, who worked for many of the major studios, photo’d just about everyone across multiple decades, including icons like Bogart, Garbo, Rita Hayworth and Joan Crawford. Author Mark Viera ties some 400 eye-catching images together with words about Hurrell’s long-lasting influence and how his images shaped Hollywood’s visual history.

Christmas comes early for movie fans with Jeremy Arnold’s Christmas in the Movies (Running Press), a lavishly illustrated, freshly expanded examination of some of the most beloved holiday flicks of all time, including what makes them bona fide “Christmas movies.” You’ll love revisiting The Shop Around the Corner, It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Home Alone and—yes—Die Hard, among the 35 featured films.  

Oct 27 2023
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Books, DVDs, Movies, Music, Photography, Pop Culture, Television, TV, Uncategorized

The Entertainment Forecast

Oct. 27 – Nov. 2

Emily Blunt hustles pain, a marathon of ‘Beetlejuice,’ a killer kid & heavy metal Halloween

FRIDAY, Oct. 27
Pain Hustlers
Emily Blunt stars in this new twisty movie (coming off its limited theatrical run tonight and onto streaming) as a jobless blue-collar mom who finds a lifeline—and more drama than she bargained for—when she meets a pharma sales rep (Chris Evans) and his boss (Andy Garcia) and finds herself in middle of a dangerous racketeering scheme, below (Netflix).

Shorsey
Jared Kelso stars in this new comedy series about a Canadian hockey team determined to never lose again (Hulu).

SATURDAY, Oct. 28
Beetlejuice
In the spirit of Halloween fun and a gonzo performance by Michael Keaton, settle in for 24 hours of the 1998 horror comedy costarring Geena Davis, Winona Ryder and Alec Baldwin (3 p.m., TBS).

Would You Kill For Me? The Mary Bailey Story
Melissa Joan Hart stars in this movie (above) based on the true story of an 11-year-old girl coaxed into killing her abusive stepfather by her mother and grandmother (8 p.m., Lifetime).
Lifetime).

SUNDAY, Oct. 29
The Guilded Age
Season two begins of the ornate period drama from Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes, about high life in the late 1800s. Carrie Coon, Cynthia Nixon, Jack Gilpin, Nathan Lane and Audra McDonald are among the sprawling cast, above (Max).

Hocus Pocus
Thirty years ago, Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy starred in this now-classic Disney Halloween film as a trio of Salem witches who stir up a cauldron of trouble. Now you can re-watch it on its anniversary (8 p.m., ABC).

MONDAY, Oct. 30
Mayflies
British dramatic series about life, love, dying and the passage of time stars Martin Compston and Tony Curran, in a touching story adapted from a novel by Andrew O’Hagan (Acorn TV).

Hellhouse LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor
Horror flick about a group of young cold case investigators who dare to stay overnight at a place where a series of grisly and unsolved murders occurred in the 1980s (Shudder/AMC+).

TUESDAY, Oct. 31
Heavy Metal Halloween
In addition to other spooky-entertainment programming throughout the day, tonight brings a trio of musical rock docs all in the spirit of the season: Songs about the devil, songs about murder and songs about magic. Happy Halloween! (AXS TV).

Live With Kelly and Mark
The daytime hosts put on their creative costumes and usher in a bunch of celebrity guests for this Halloween special (syndicated, check local listings).

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 1
Ancient Earth: Humans
How did we get here? Using cutting-edge animation, this eye-opening new documentary traces the history, evolution and spread of the planets’s most advanced mammals, the upright humanoids (9 p.m, PBS) 

Black Cake
Based on a bestselling novel by Charmaine Wilkinson, this new streaming drama series follows about a pair of modern-day siblings as they discover the legacy of the mother, who disappeared off the coast of Jamaica in the 1960s under suspicion of murder (Hulu)

Ryan Ashley is a judge on the tattoo competition series ‘Ink Masters.’

Ink Master
New season of the tattoo competition series begins tonight with host Joel Madden, the lead singer of the band Good Charlotte, returning to host more epic ink battles (Paramount+).

THURSDAY, Nov. 2
All the Light We Cannot See
Mark Ruffalo, Ari Mia Loberti and Hugh Laurie lead the cast of this limited series (below), based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a blind French girl and her father fleeing German-occupied Paris with a legendary diamond to keep it from falling into the hands of Nazis (Netflix).

Kingdom Business
Season two of the drama series further explores the lives of fictional gospel music characters in a state of chaos after lust, love and denial have created a rift in the “kingdom.” With Yolanda Adams, Michael Jai White, Loretta Devine, Louis Gossett Jr. and Michelle Williams (BET+).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

One of the most storied songwriters in all of music, Willie Nelson, tells all in Energy Follows Thought: The Stories Behind My Songs (William Morrow), in which the “Red Headed Stranger” digs into the details of 160 of his tunes, plus his superstar collaborators and friends, his extended musical “family” and the themes that have inspired him. It’s a must-have for Willie-philes!

BRING IT HOME

DC’s Blue Beetle, about a young man (Xolo Maridueña) gifted with extraordinary powers who decides to become a superhero, comes to DVD after its short theatrical run.

It’s bigger, fatter and Greek-er than ever. It’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, writer/director Nia Vardolos’ latest installment of her quasi-autobiographical romcom trilogy, which comes to DVD loaded with bonus content, including commentary and behind-the-scenes features about making the picture on location in (where else?) Greece.

NOW HEAR THIS

Beatles fans will groove to the super new 2023 editions of the band’s career-spanning albums, 1962-1966 and 1967-70 (known as the “Red” and “Blue” LPs), which contain all the hits—plus, now, one last Beatles song, “Now and Then,” written and sung by John Lennon with contributions from Paul McCarthy, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, and finally finished as a post-Beatles single, 40 years later, by McCarthy and Starr. The Apple Corps/Capitol/UME release is available on CD and vinyl.

Oct 20 2023
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Books, DVDs, Humor, Movies, Pop Culture, Television, TV

The Entertainment Forecast

Oct. 20 – Oct. 26

Funny ‘Dads,’ serious ‘Bosch’ & a Wonder Woman two-fer

Bokeem Woodbine, Bobby Cannavale and Bill Burr are “Old Dads.”

FRIDAY, Oct. 20
Everyone Else Burns
Simon Bird and Kate O’Flynn star in this new British-based sitcom series about a puritanical family preparing for a big move—away from the woes of Earth, avoiding the fires of hell and basking in blissful eternity. Can they “save” themselves, and anyone else who’ll listen? (9:30 p.m., The CW).

Old Dads
Bill Burr, Bobby Canavale and Bookeem Woodbine star in this new comedy flick as a trio of guys who become fathers later in life and have a steep learning curve with school principals, millennial CEOs and a world that’s changed a bit since the 1980s (Netflix).

Bosch: Legacy
Titus Welliver returns (above) to the role of the former homicide detective, based on the lead character of crime novels by Michael Connelly, in season two of the hit procedural series as he seeks out a killer before he finds him first. With Mimi Rogers (Freevee).

SATURDAY, Oct. 21
NFL Icons
Season three of the pigskin docuseries profiles Pro Football Hall of Famers Jim Brown, Charles Woodson, Bill Cowher and Mike Singletary (MGM+).

Wonder Woman Day
Stretch out with your golden lasso and enjoy Gal Godot (above) in her two standalone films as the warrior princess, back to back in Wonder Woman and its sequel, Wonder Woman 1984 (12:45 p.m., TBS).

SUNDAY, Oct. 22
Fear the Walking Dead
In season eight, Madison (Kim Dickens) goes about making the old Stadium a safe haven, but it attracts some unwanted attention—of the walking dead kind! (9 p.m., AMC).

WB 100th Anniversary Movie Monster Marathon
Pick yous favorite monster and watch ‘em go in this all-day slate of three Godzillas, a Kong, one Meg and Dwayne Johnson’s Rampage (10:45 a.m., TNT)

Godzilla roars in three movies this Sunday.

AKA Mr. Chow
Find out how a lad from Shanghai would eventually triumph over childhood trauma, personal loss and systemic prejudice to forge a new identity and open the first of what would become his franchise of iconic Chinese restaurants (9 p.m., HBO)

MONDAY, Oct. 23
The Royals: A New Era
New documentary examines the state and future of the monarchy in the modern world a year after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, featuring interviews with palace confidants and royal experts (9 p.m, The CW).

Rembember Milli Vanilli (above)? Find out what happened to the lip-synching pop duo in a new documentary.

TUESDAY, Oct. 24
Milli Vanilli
Girl, you know it’s true. This documentary tells the story of Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan, two childhood friends who became superstars in the late-‘80s duo Milli Vanilli—before a career-ending lip-synching incident led to their downfall (Paramount+).

Help! I’m in a Secret Relationship!
Well, it won’t be secret much longer now that you’re disclosing it on season two of this reality show, in which people who think they’ve found the loves of their lives discover it’s really only a pack of lies (9 p.m., MTV).

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 25
Spy in the Ocean, A Nature Miniseries
Go deep into the seas and discover what it’s like to dive with sharks, leap high above the water with a dolphin or swim like an octopus in this new series, which uses high-tech cameras designed and disguised to look like marine animals (8 p.m., PBS).

Life on Our Planet
New documentary series shows the battle for adaptability and survival that has shaped our planet since the beginning of time (Netflix). 

THURSDAY, Oct. 26
American Horror Story
The bloody-good horror anthology returns for the fall with a four-episode “Huluween” event (Hulu). 

The Vanishing Triangle
New original psychological thriller series (above) is inspired by true events that shook Ireland in the 1990s, when several women disappeared, never to be seen again. With India Mullen and Allen Leech (Sundance Now).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Fans of ‘80s rock will groove to Police Diaries (Rocket88), drummer Stewart Copeland’s firsthand account of the early days of The Police, the British trio that took over the charts with “Every Breath You Take,” “Roxanne,” “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” and many more hits. Packed with photos from Copeland’s deep personal archive, “it’s a big, noisy book about one heckuva ride.”

It’s the fuel that keeps us going, but some of our food is disappearing. In Endangered Eating: America’s Vanishing Foods (WW Norton), food historian author Sarah Lohman points out the growing list of local comestibles in danger of extinction and the urgent efforts by farmers, shepherds and fishers to save them.

Afterlife is big business and a deep-set cultural touchstone, and author Greg Melville unearths the details in Over My Dead Body (Abrams), a colorful history of cemeteries, interment customs and other practices of saying our final goodbyes.

BRING IT HOME

You’re gonna need a MUCH bigger boat for Meg 2: The Trench (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) in which Jason Statham returns to face an even bigger fin foe—and other monstrous creatures—from the deepest depths of the ocean.

Dracula hitches a ride on a merchant ship and makes his way from the Old World toward England in The Last Voyage of the Demeter (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment), the latest bloody adventure of novelist Bram Stoker’s iconic blood-sucker. Features include an alternate opening, commentary, and a look in the filmmaking process of conjuring up a nautical nightmare for the screen.

Oct 13 2023
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Books, History, Movies, Photography, Pop Culture, Television, TV

The Entertainment Forecast

Oct. 13 – Oct. 19

Brie Larson cooks up science, a new ‘Goosebumps,,’ Disney turns 100, Frasier returns and ‘Barbie’ on DVD!

FRIDAY, Oct. 13
Lessons in Chemistry
Brie Larson stars in this new series (above) as a young woman in the 1950s who becomes the host of a cooking show, where she puts her dream of becoming a scientist to work in the kitchen (Apple TV+).

Raid the Cage
Damon Wayans Jr. hosts this new game show in which players compete to correctly answer questions and grab prizes from “the Cage” before time runs out and the doors close. (9 p.m., CBS)

Goosebumps
Inspired by R.L. Stein’s best-selling Scholastic books, this new series (above) follows a group of high schoolers investigating the death of a teenager and unearthing scary secrets along the way. With Justin Long, Zack Morris, Isa Briones and Will Price (Disney+).

SATURDAY, Oct. 14
The Murdaugh Murders
Bill Pullman stars in this two-part network movie (below) based on the highly publicized real-life details of the prominent South Carolina family at the center of a sordid murder mystery (Netflix).

Pets & Pickers
Catch up in season two with the workers at the Regional Animal Protection Society, motivated by their extraordinary compassion and their feeling that all animals deserve treatment (9 p.m., Animal Planet).

SUNDAY, Oct. 15
100 Years of Disney
Kelly Ripa hosts this blowout two-and-a-half-hour event celebrating the House of Mouse milestone, with previews of upcoming projects, the world premiere of a new short film and a full screening of the award-winning animated feature film Encanto (8 p.m., ABC).

Hotel Portofino
Season two of the glamorous period drama, about an English hotel in Italy in the 1920s—set against the rise of Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime—stars Natascha McElone, Oliver Dench and Louise Binder (8 p.m., PBS).

Billy the Kid
Season two (above) continues the tale of America’s most infamous outlaw as William “Billy” Bounty (Tom Blyth) and his allies square off against the corrupt oil barons of the Sante Fe Ring, which erupts into the bloody Lincoln County War (MGM+).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Go inside the glitzy world of Hollywood in Vanity Fair: Oscar Night Sessions (Abrams), with exquisite portraits over the years by photographer Mark Seliger at one of the most exclusive events following the star-studded Academy awards.

What’s goin’ on down there? Stephen Ellcock’s marvelous Underworlds (Thames & Hudson) digs deep into the fact, folklore, legends and other flights of fancy about the many things beneath our feet—from graves to caves, subterranean worlds, animal lairs, secret bunkers, fallout shelters, gemstones and sinkholes…and places of our deepest dreams and id wanderings, like hell itself! Packed with artwork and illustrations, it’s a glorious guided tour of the many things underground, real and imagined.

Architectural and industrial photographer Chris Payne’s Made in America (Abrams) is a vibrant journey into the heart of things created and manufactured in in the good ol’ USA, with techniques ranging from hi-tech to handmade.

MONDAY, Oct. 16
The Chase
This new dramatic series centers on a British veterinary practice where dogs bark, sparks fly and dark secrets come to light (Acorn TV).

The American Buffalo
Master filmmaker Ken Burns presents his latest project, a four-hour, two-part series, taking viewers on a 10,000-year trek across North America and tracing the history and heritage of the iconic Great Plains (8 p.m., PBS).

TUESDAY, Oct. 17
Frasier
Yes, Frasier. Kelsey Grammer reprises his role as psychiatrist Frasier Crane in this new—yes, new—comedy series (below) that picks up where the old one left off, some two decades ago. Watch the first two episodes back to back tonight (9:15 p.m., CBS).

The Devil on Trial
With firsthand accounts and a shocking crime, this new doc explores the first (and only) time a defense of “demonic possession” has be used in a U.S. murder trial (Netflix)

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 18
Living for the Dead
New series from the producers of Queer Eye and narrated by Kristen Stewart follows five fab queer ghost hunters helping the living by calming the dead in places of paranormal activity (Hulu).

Nature
The iconic everything-outdoors series opens its 42nd season opens with the true story of a Tasmanian man who makes friends with a platypus, tapping experts to learn all he can about the unusual egg-laying mammal’s secret world and protect it from urban encroachment (8 p.m., PBS). 

BRING IT HOME

Maybe you heard about this little movie called Barbie, which became the world’s highest grossing film of the summer. Now you can own it on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4k (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), starring Margo Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and her guy friend Ken as two of the most iconic toys ever, who leave Barbieland and find a life-changing existential crisis in the “real world.” Includes five bonus featurettes!

THURSDAY, Oct. 19
Wolf Like Me
Season two kicks off tonight as Mary (Isla Fisher) and Gary (Josh Gadd) contemplate her pregnancy—will their offspring be a human, or a wolf? And will what happened in the outback come back to haunt them? (Peacock).

Sep 29 2023
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Books, DVDs, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Television, TV

The Entertainment Forecast

September 29 – October 5

Emma is ‘Cruella,’ Brits rock, ‘Family Guy’ turns 22 & Milla fights monsters!

Emma Stone stars in Cruella on Disney+.

FRIDAY, Sept. 29
Gen V
What happens at a college especially for young adults who want to become superheroes? Find out in this zingy new series (below) connected to The Boys and starring Jensen Ackles, Patrick Schwarznegger and Lizzie Broadway (Prime).

The New York Times Presents: How to Fix a Pageant
Investigative docuseries digs into the Miss USA and Miss Universe organizations, a recent scandal, and how the “beauty pageants” are struggling to remain successful, relevant and significant in the modern world (10 p.m., FX). 

Brits Rock!
Cool! This block of programming celebrates the music and legacies three iconic British rock artists: The Beatles, Adele and David Bowie (All Arts TV).

Reptile
Benicio del Toro, Justin Timberlake (above) and Alicia Siverstone star in this new network original movie about the brutal murder of a young real estate executive and a hardened detective who attempts to uncover the truth in a case where nothing is as it seems (Netflix).

Flora and Son
Eve Hewson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt star in this original drama about a mom, her rebellious teenage son (Orén Kinlan) and how the transformative power of music brings them together in newfound harmony (AppleTV+).

SATURDAY, Sept. 30
Hot Dish with Franco
World-class chef Franco Noriega puts his Peruvian and Italian roots down in the kitchen for some hot-stuff, flavorful dishes in this new culinary series (12 p.m., Food Network).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

It’s never too early to think about Christmas! The Christmas Book (Phaidon) is a treasure trove of the traditions, lore, rituals and spirituality of “the most wonderful time of the year” with photographs, paintings and other pop-cultural artifacts. Santa, Scrooge, snow, nutcrackers, silent nights, nativity scenes—it’s all here, and more!

Fans of ‘80s rock will groove to Police Diaries (Rocket88), drummer Stewart Copeland’s firsthand account of the early days of The Police, the British trio that took over the charts with “Every Breath You Take,” “Roxanne,” “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” and many more hits. Packed with photos from Copeland’s deep personal archive, “it’s a big, noisy book about one heckuva ride.”

We know the ocean is big, it’s deep and it’s the stuff of folklore and legend. But Helen Czerski’s The Blue Machine: How the Ocean Works (WW Norton) reminds us how the vast sea is a massive aquatic engine, constantly churning with energy, life and raw materials. Read it and marvel anew—and raise your awareness of how this ancient, gravity-defying feature of the Earth’s topography, now faces new, modern environmental threats.

Take an armchair trip to some of the world’s most scenic getaways in The Alps (Phaidon), with hundreds of photos of winter-playground places in France, Switzerland, Italy, AAustria and Germany. Here, you don’t have to be a celebrity—or a wealthy international traveler—to enjoy the views.

SUNDAY, Oct. 1
Family Guy
Seth McFarlane’s classic animated sitcom for grownups returns for season 22 tonight. Meg’s having a baby, Peter takes flight and Stewie gets his rock-star on! (9:30 p.m., Fox).

Jack Osborne’s Night of Terror
Ozzy’s son launches another season of spine-tingling paranormal investigations (below), kicking off with a trip to a haunted hotel in Santa Paula, Calif., accompanied by his mom, Sharon (10 p.m., Travel Channel).

MONDAY, Oct. 2
Spin’s 100 Greatest Rock Stars Since That Was a Thing
You wanna rock? Then tune in for this new docuseries, spotlighting all the greats—Elvis, Kurt Cobain, Jimmy Page, David Bowie, Grace Slick, and many more, with commentary from Dee Snider, Stewart Copeland, Carnie Wilson and other musical icons. Rock on! (8 p.m., AXS).

The Partridge Family
C’mon, get happy! All 96 episodes of the classic ‘70s TV musical sitcom series (below), about a peppy “family band” of rock musicians (led by Shirley Jones and David Cassidy), return to TV beginning today as part of the network’s new “Retro Binge,” which also includes The Monkees (9 p.m., AXS).

TUESDAY, Oct. 3
The Found
Shanola Hampton—she played Veronica Fisher in Shameless—now stars in this new weekly series as a foster care professional searching for a missing 14-year-old, but the case becomes much more complicated than she first imagined (10 p.m., NBC). 

Cruella
Emma Stone plays a young villainess-in-making (who’d grow up to be Cruella Deville of 101 Dalmatians) in this feisty, fab-fashion live-action 2021 remake of the Disney classic (7:50 p.m., Freeform).

BRING IT HOME

Get ready for Halloween with some of the greatest ghouls of all time: Universal Classic Monsters (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment), the new eight-disc set of restored, 4K versions of The Invisible Man, The Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, Phantom of the Opera and The Creature From the Black Lagoon. Plus, an accompanying book is filled with rare pix, and trivia.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 4
Monster Hunter
Not many people saw it when it was released theatrically in the early days of the COVID pandemic. Not you can watch it twice, back to back, as model-turned-sci-fi-actress Milla Jovovich kicks some serious monster butt in a futuristic, apocalyptic world, all based on a popular video game (7:20 p.m., FXM).

Quantum Leap
Season two of the sequel series to the 1989-93 TV drama stars Raymond Lee as a physicist who discovers many wrongs to right after his “unauthorized” leap into the past. Plus, he has a sweetie (Caitlin Bassett) he left behind (9 p.m., NBC).

THURSDAY, Oct. 5
Our Flag Means Death
Season two of the high-seas pirate comedy sets sail tonight, with filmmaker/actor Taika Waititi in the lead role of this swashbuckling tongue-in-cheek tale loosely based on real-life 18th century would-be buccaneer Stede Bonnet (Max).

Accused: Guilty of Innocent
What happens when someone is formally charged with a crime and sent to the courtroom? New season of the true-crime series picks up tonight with more inside stories of people facing the wheels of justice for serious crimes they are alleged to have committed. But did they?  (10 p.m., A&E).

Sep 22 2023
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The Entertainment Forecst

Friday, Sept. 22 – Thursday, Sept. 28

Benedict Cumberbatch sees a future in gambling, a new book of fun Beatles facts & a visit to John Wick’s favorite hotel

Benedict Cumberbatch stars in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Wednesday).

FRIDAY, Sept. 22
The Continental: From the World of John Wick
Much-anticipated “prequel” series to the action-packed John Wick movie series (below) drops on streaming tonight, with a three-part series about the characters and the origin of the safe-space hotel for the underworld. No Keanu, sorry. But hey, there’s Mel Gibson (Peacock).

Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court
Four-part series tells the history of America’s highest level of the judiciary system, tracing its history from the turbulent 1950s into the controversial present (8 p.m., Showtime).

SATURDAY, Sept. 23
Stolen Baby: The Murder of Heidi Broussand
A baby was stolen, a murder was committed, and a woman named Helen Broussand was killed. So, what else you need to know about this ripped-from-the-headlines tale of a friendship gone bad (way bad) starring Emily Osment and Anna Hopkins? (8 p.m., Lifetime).

SUNDAY, Sept. 24
Disappeared
Tonight’s episode of the true-crime series focuses on a woman who, in 2019, headed home to Chicago after visiting Iowa to care for her ailing mother—and was never heard from again. As her friends search for her, the case becomes even more mysterious. (10 p.m., ID).

MONDAY, Sept. 25
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test
Do you laugh at the fun and games of American Ninja Warrior, giggle at the naughty-bits contrivance of Naked and Afraid, or scoff at the tedious blue-collar tasks of Tough as Nails? Then you’re ready for this new reality competition (above), in which some sorta-famous people (Savannah Chrisley, Brian Austin Greene, Jack Osborne, Tara Reid, JoJo Siwa, to name a handful) put themselves through some of the world’s most rigorous training exercises (9 p.m., Fox)

The Irrational
Jessie L. Martin (he was Det. Green on Law & Order) stars in this new series as a behavioral science professor called in to investigate the murder of a fashion influencer, leading to a maze of government, law enforcement and corporate misdeeds (10 p.m., NBC). 

TUESDAY, Sept. 26
Savior Complex
Three-part docuseries unfolds the controversial story of Renee Bach, a young American missionary who felt called by God to set up a charity for malnourished children in Uganda—and later faced allegations that she, with no medical qualifications, was treating the children herself. It’s a parable about “white saviorism” and the questionable ethics of foreign aid work done in the name of religious ideals. (9 p.m., HBO).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

There has been a lot written about the Fab Four, but in Wait! What? The Beatles Couldn’t Read Music? (Norton Young Readers) author Dan Gutman offers a Yellow Submarine full of unusual and surprising facts you probably didn’t know about the lads from Liverpool—like John Lennon’s nickname of “Stinker” (because he farted so much), and how Ringo’s grandma thought he was possessed! It’s hip, humorous and geared for kids. 

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 27
Welcome to Fairhope
New docuseries goes small—into small-town America—following a multi-generational group of friends and neighbors in the community of Fairhope, Ala., where everyone knows everybody else…and usually knows their business, too (Hulu).

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Director Wes Anderson puts his whimsical, quirky touches on this beloved story by Roald Dahl about a rich man who learns he can “see” without using his eyes, then sets out to master the skill to cheat at gambling. With Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel and Ben Kingsley (Netflix).

Snake Oil
Can contestants tell the difference between “real” products and fake ones? Host David Spade challenges them to sort out the real stuff from the snake oil, guided by the opinions and expertise of celebs, athletes and other famous folk (Brad Paisley and Will Arnett, above)? (9 p.m., Fox).

THURSDAY, Sept. 28
The Kardashians
Can we ever get enough of them? (Answer: Yes, we can.). But for those who are remain fascinated by the cosmetic-surgery train wreck of this reality-show family, well, here you go. Season four starts tonight (Hulu).

Lego Masters
Will Arnett (him again!) returns to host season four of the competition series, in which Lego architects will face a new battery of challenges, including constructing an explosive volcano and a kitty-cat palace (9 p.m., Fox).

Sep 15 2023
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The Entertainment Forecast

Friday, Sept. 15 – Thursday, Sept. 21

Married life takes a murderous turn, Batman wings it all day, and Kim Kardashian’s ‘Horror Story’

Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Jenna Coleman in ‘Wilderness’

FRIDAY, Sept. 15
El Conde
Well, here’s something you don’t see every day: A dark comedy set in Chile about a fascist ruler who happens to be vampire and decides the undead life isn’t for him. Think What We Do in the Shadows with a South American twist (Netflix).

Wilderness
A cross-country dream trip turns into a domestic dilemma in this British TV-series thriller as a young wife (Jenna Coleman) stews over the infidelity of her unfaithful husband (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) as marital bliss turns into fury and revenge, with an opening song by Taylor Swift (Prime).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Game geeks, get ready! The first videogame was created about 70 years ago, but now that “novelty” has become a worldwide phenomenon. Game Changers (Phaidon) is the definitive illustrated compendium of some 300 of pop culture’s most influential and iconic games, consoles and more.

Screen Style (Lawrence King) by film fashionista media consultant Marnie Fogg lets you eyeball some of the most colorful, iconic and wowza wardrobe items from iconic TV shows and movies, including Bridgerton, Empire, Downtown Abbey, The Deuce, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Euphoria, Schitt’s Creek, The Crown and much more. And it’s packed with hundreds of full-color pics, helping exoplain how clothes “make” the man (and the woman!) by establishing time and place and character traits, and setting the tone in subtle, distinctive and absolutely integral ways.

Lovers of language (and how it sometimes gets mauled) will love Damp Squids and Card Sharks (Hardie Grant) by Robert Anwood. This lively little volume is a treat for anyone who appreciates mangled phrases, mixed metaphors, mispelling mishaps and other interesting mis-uses and outright abuses of English. 

SATURDAY, Sept. 16
WOW-Women of Wresting
Pull up your ringside seat for season two of this series about the fabulous female grapplers who it duke it out on the mat…if that’s your jam (syndicated).

Batman
Take wing with the Cape Crusader (above) and a full day of movies, include director Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed trilogy with Christian Bale (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises), plus Justice League and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (begins 10 a.m., TNT).

SUNDAY, Sept. 17
Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein
True-crime fans will flip over this new docuseries, about the serial killer and grave robber whose twisted mind and heinous acts of real-life horror inspired the movies Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (MGM+).

The Gold
Hugh Bonneville and Dominic Cooper lead the cast of this new drama (below), based on a true 1983 story about how a group of men inadvertently stumbled across some $34 million in gold bullion during a London robbery (Paramount+).

MONDAY, Sept. 18
Neighbors
New season of the Australian drama series begins tonight, following the lives, loves and challenges of residents on the fictional Ramsay Street in a suburb of Melbourne (Freevee).

The Academy of Country Music Honors
This annual all-star fete, which was held in August at Nashville’s historic auditorium, will salute country hitmakers including Chris Stapleton, Clint Black, K.T. Oslin, Tim McGraw and Mary Chapin Carpenter (8 p.m., Fox).

Superpowers
Sean Penn directed this documentary about Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky and the country’s ongoing fight for its freedom against Russia (Paramount+).

NOW HEAR THIS

Ready for some hard-charging, guitar-slinging retro rockbilly? Brian Setzer’s new The Devil Always Collects (Surfgod Records) is a hip-cat trip to rockville with a new collection of tunes from the former Stray Cats frontman—including a blisteringly groovy take on the old Del Reeves country truckin’ anthem, “Girl on the Billboard.”

TUESDAY, Sept. 19
Celebrity Name That Tune
How well do the stars know music? Find out as more famous folks come aboard for season three and try to win big bugs for their charities. Randy Fox and Jane Krakowski return as hosts (8 p.m., Fox).

The Mask
See the 1994 superhero comedy which began Jim Carrey’s trajectory as a gonzo breakout star, established Cameron Diaz as a leading lady, and made swing music hip again. And oh, yeah, it made more moolah (at the time) than any other film ever based on a comic book (10 p.m., TruTV).

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 20

American Horror Story: Delicate
Kim Kardashian, Emma Roberts and Cara Delevingne are among the cast for the latest installment of the award-winning anthology horror series, which will feature episodes about witches, a traveling freak show, a haunted hotel and the apocalypse itself. It’s scary good! (10 p.m., FX).

The Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal
On March 2, 2023, Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of the murder of his wife, Maggie, and son Paul. The world watched with bated breath as a verdict was announced. The people of South Carolina’s Lowcountry had been waiting the better part of two years to understand what happened the night of June 7, 2021. Now you can find out more in season two of the documentary delving into that fateful night (Netflix).  

THURSDAY, Sept. 21
Bill Murray Moviefest
He’s done some semi-serious stuff, but Murray will always be known for making us laugh. Settle in tonight for a back-to-back mini-fest of his funniest films, including Caddyshack, Scrooged, Meatballs and Stripes (5 p.m., Pluto).

The Prank Panel In the season finale, the practical-joker pranksters (Johnny Knoxville, Eric Andre and Gabourey Sidibe) help pull off an elaborate practical joke involving a new bride and an allergic reaction (9 p.m., ABC).

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