What to Watch - August 19, 2020
In which we ponder the end of scripted television and the rise of something called 'Donkmaster'
Wednesday - August 19
Whether there's something to watch tonight depends on a variety of factors, including one's tolerance for grainy video, one's desperation to watch something - anything - new, and perhaps a BAC that would kill a moose.
But please don't take my word for it:
Discovery / Dodgeball Thunderdome - competition
Science / Eaten by an Escalator - reality
Vice / Donkmaster - reality
Thursday - August 20
HBO Max drops a big-time stand-up comedy slate on Thursday, starting with HA Comedy Festival featuring a line-up up Latinx comics and hosted by Anjelah Johnson with special appearances by Eva Longoria y Eugenio Derbez. In addition to that, they're premiering three stand-up specials:
Beth Stelling: Girl Daddy
James Veitch: Straight to VHS
Rose Matafeo: Horndog
Also on HBO Max tonight is a reality series called Singletown in which five couples split up and quickly hit the dating scene. The snag? They're forced to live in a neighborhood where their exes are their neighbors who are weighing in on each other's dating choices. So: the Castro.
Shudder / Random Acts of Violence (movie). Road trip! On the way to the NYC Comic Con, a comic book creator realizes that a fan is killing people based on what's happening in the comic book series... which is called 'Slasherman.' This kind of thing never happens to Nancy. Stars Jesse Williams (Grey's Anatomy), Jordana Brewster (Furious 7), and Jay Baruchel (How to Train Your Dragon) who also directs.
Netflix / John Was Trying to Contact Aliens (documentary). Man, some people really, really, really, really, really missed sports. Trailer here.
Friday - August 2
Netflix / The Sleepover (movie). Two kids discover that their mom is not some boring stay-at-home mom but actually a high-end thief who's in the witness protection program, and when she and their clueless dad get kidnapped along with her super hot ex-boyfriend, the kids team up with their friends for a rescue mission. Kids are the best. They also borked the OnlyFans set up that was going to pay for their college. Good job, kids. Stars Malin Ackerman (Billions), Ken Marino (Party Down), and Joe Manganiello (True Blood). Trailer here.
Prime Video / Chemical Hearts (movie). Lili Reinhart (Hustlers) stars as a high school transfer with a mysterious past who beguiles a shy romantic. Trailer here.
Netflix / HOOPS, S1 (animated). A high school basketball coach (voiced by Jake Johnson, The New Girl) scrambles to save his job in this super potty-mouthed animated comedy. Trailer here.
VH1 / RuPaul's Drag Race Vegas Revue (docuseries). This limited series follows six former Drag Race contestants as they prepare to launch the live version of RuPaul’s Drag Race in Vegas. Trailer here.
Returning - Netflix, Lucifer; Hulu, Find Me in Paris
Saturday - August 22, 2020
Freeform / Love in the Time of Corona (limited series). Gabriel García Márquez wept.
Sunday - August 23
HBO / The Vow (docuseries). Last year an actress I dimly remember from a long-ago series was arrested for her involvement in something called NXIVM, then referred to as either a 'sex cult' or just a self-realization, self-improvement organization that happened to sound like an antacid medication. This documentary series hopes to answer the question I had at the time which was 'what's up with that?'
Monday - August 24, 2020
Returning - CBS, Love Island; Quibi, Reno 911 (new to Quibi)
Tuesday - August 25, 2020
Returning - Netflix, Trinkets; OWN, The Haves and Have Nots
And that's it for the week!
In Other News…
In renewal, cancellation, and production news, Apple renewed Ted Lasso (was it the biscuits?); Reese Witherspoon announced she's creating a country music competition for Apple TV+; Netflix renewed Warrior Nun and canceled Patriot Act; it's last call for Drunk History; Supernatural star Jensen Ackles is slated to join S3 of Amazon Prime Video's The Boys; Jonathan Pryce (Brazil) is joining The Crown as Prince Philip; HBO has announced more additions to the cast of its adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me; Idris Elba's upcoming spy-romance movie got picked up by Apple TV+; and Rachel Weisz is slated to star in (and produce) an upcoming series adaptation of David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers for Amazon Prime Video. || Who asked for this? || HBO has made the first episode of Lovecraft Country available on YouTube. || In bundling news, on Monday Apple launched a CBS All Access Channel/Showtime Channel bundle available through the Apple TV app, while Verizon expanded its Disney+ bundle to new customers to include Hulu and ESPN+ (both of which are Disney-owned). || And finally, Apple TV+ has released the trailer for the upcoming Bill Murray/Rashida Jones movie On the Rocks written and directed by Sofia Coppola.
Did we do it? Gang, we did. Have a great week and clean out that air filter.
Moira