‘Walking Dead’ Sees the Future, Awards Circuit Heats Up, Homer Goes Viral on ‘The Simpsons,’ Camryn Manheim Gets ‘Cruel’
The Walking Dead leaves the Commonwealth for a tour of the provinces in a long-shot bid for unity. The Critics Choice Awards go live from L.A. and London, while BritBox streams the BAFTA awards from across the pond. Homer’s in hot water—again—on The Simpsons. Camryn Manheim, who runs the precinct on the Law & Order reboot, is more like Nurse Ratched as the headmistress of a youth treatment center in Lifetime’s Cruel Instruction.
The Walking Dead
SUNDAY: It’s a rare episode of the zombie thriller that visits the communities of Alexandria, Hilltop and Oceanside all in one hour—but that’s the itinerary set for the Commonwealth’s Governor Pamela Milton (Laila Robins) by her ambitious right-hand man, Lance Hornsby (an unctuous Josh Hamilton). As Milton tours the provinces, hoping to make alliances that could secure a more peaceful future against interlopers, the biggest holdout is a skeptical Maggie (Lauren Cohan). Back at the Commonwealth, Eugene (Josh McDermitt) falls to pieces over his betrayal by faux Stephanie, while Ezekiel (Khary Payton) gets an unexpected medical update. And here and there, walkers meet bloody ends.
Critics Choice Awards
SUNDAY: Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer host the ceremony, with live feeds from Los Angeles (the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel) and London (the Savoy Hotel), where winners from film and TV will add fuel to the ongoing awards season. (Disclosure: I served on several nominating committees for the TV awards.) Among the highlights: Jimmy Kimmel presents Billy Crystal with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and Insecure’s Issa Rae gives Halle Berry this year’s SeeHer Award. More awards news: For the first time, BritBox will stream live from London the EE British Academy Film Awards (Sunday, 7 pm local time), with Rebel Wilson hosting.
The Simpsons
SUNDAY: Silicon Valley’s Kumail Nanjiani is a guest voice in an episode where Homer becomes a pariah—again—when all of Springfield and beyond is outraged over video footage suggesting he locked poor Santa’s Little Helper in a hot car. It may not have been his fault, but will that even matter? In other animated goings-on, Judy (Jenny Slate) tries out for a school musical based on The Perfect Storm in The Great North (8:30/7:30c), Gene (Eugene Mirman) participates in a music video on Bob’s Burgers (9/8c), and Family Guy (9:30/8:30c) spoofs signature HBO shows Game of Thrones, Succession and Big Little Lies.
Cruel Instruction
SATURDAY: Annie’s Miss Hannigan looks like Mother Teresa compared with Miss Connie (Law & Order’s formidable Camryn Manheim), the brutal headmistress of a Utah youth residential treatment center in a fact-based melodrama. New teenage roomies Kayla (Kelcey Mawema) and Amanda (Morgan Taylor Campbell) team up to expose the abuse, which includes force-feeding, solitary confinement and verbal and physical assaults. After the movie, a Beyond the Headlines special features interviews with real-life survivors of the system.
Inside Weekend TV:
- Mash-Up Our Home (Saturday, 8/7c, HGTV): Husband-wife design team Kele Dobrinski and Christina Valencia use their expertise in the art of compromise to help couples mesh their very different design styles—in the opener, finding a balance between bold colors and neutral minimalism.
- Saturday Night Live (Saturday, 11:30/10:30c, 8:30/PT): The Batman’s Zoë Kravitz is the first-time guest host, with Rosalia the first-time musical guest.
- NCIS: Los Angeles (Sunday, 9/8c, CBS): Original cast member Peter Cambor (as operational psychologist Nate Getz) returns as a guest, meeting with Admiral Kilbride (Gerald McRaney) while Kensi (Daniela Ruah) and Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) seek the mother of a newborn found abandoned on a Navy ship.
- Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (Sunday, 9/8c, HBO): As Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly) settles in as the Lakers’ new owner in this entertaining sports dramedy, he gives Coach West (Jason Clarke) free rein with the team roster while trying to charm rival franchise owner of the Celtics, Red Auerbach (Michael Chiklis).
- Game Theory with Bomani Jones (Sunday, 11:30/10:30c, HBO): The Emmy-winning sports commentator (ESPN’s Highly Questionable and HBO’s Back on the Record with Bob Costas) takes on issues that transcend the world of sports in a timely new series.
