‘Mind Over Murder,’ a ‘View’ Reunion, Daniel Tiger’s Movie, a Fraught ‘Holiday’
Blow your mind with HBO’s compelling true-crime docuseries Mind Over Murder, recounting a truly bizarre miscarriage of justice in small-town Nebraska. Members of the original panel of The View reunite for a 25th-year powwow. For the younger set, PBS KIDS presents an hourlong Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood movie in which Daniel visits a new neighborhood. Spectrum drops a four-hour drama about a Mediterranean vacation spoiled by tawdry secrets, while Acorn TV presents the third and final season of Welsh crime drama Hidden. A curated critical checklist of notable Monday TV:
Mind Over Murder
Series Premiere
Even those (like me) who are typically resistant to most true-crime TV are likely to get sucked into this bizarre six-part docuseries about an outrageous miscarriage of justice in the small town of Beatrice (Bee-ATT-riss), Nebraska. Who done it is only part of the mystery. The puzzle that most fascinates filmmaker Nanfu Wang in her delicate, deep investigation is why five of the six people wrongfully convicted (later exonerated) for the 1985 murder of 68-year-old Helen Wilson actually confessed to the crime. One of the “Beatrice Six” still seems to believe she was there even though she knows she wasn’t. Flawed and coercive interrogations, and the fragile mental state of some of the accused, help explain the inexplicable. But not until a local community theater (urged on by Wang) stages a play based on court and legal records can the community, and the victim’s long-grieving family, come to grips with the sordid, incredible truth.
Behind the Table: A View Reunion
Special
Today’s time-flies moment: It has been a quarter century since Barbara Walters and the View crew entered the daytime fray, changing the sound and look of late-morning talk. In a half-hour special, original moderator Meredith Vieira, original co-host Joy Behar and inaugural panelists Star Jones and Debbie Matenopoulos gather at the Essex House to reflect on the talk show that changed their lives, the mentorship of Walters, their combative chemistry and even their memorable exits.
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood
The Daytime Emmy-winning children’s series that proudly carries on the Mister Rogers legacy returns with an hourlong movie. “Daniel Visits a New Neighborhood” sends the lovable tiger and his mom out of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe for the first time to meet Daniel’s pen pal Juan Carlos. Daniel not only learns what it means to be away from home, he gets an appreciation for Juan Carlos’ culture, including some Spanish phrases.
The Holiday
Series Premiere
Michael Crompton (Silent Witness) adapts T.M. Logan’s book into a four-part emotional thriller, filmed in and around the scenic Mediterranean island of Malta. A family’s dream getaway turns sour when Kate (Jill Halfpenny) learns her husband is cheating on her with one of her best friends. Turns out that’s not the only lie that will be uncovered as the group of friends turn on each other.
Inside Monday TV:
- American Ninja Warrior (8/7c, NBC): Add a new obstacle, Kickboards, to the course as qualifying rounds continue in San Antonio.
- Roswell, New Mexico (8/7c, The CW): Liz (Jeanine Mason) and crew execute a plan they hope will help them catch Bonnie and Clyde. Say what?
- Breeders (10/9c, FX): Paul’s (Martin Freeman) plan to take his parents on a nostalgic day trip to the countryside backfires when unpleasant secrets are revealed.
- Hidden (streaming on Acorn TV): The Welsh procedural returns for a third and final season of six episodes, with detectives Cadi John (Sian Reese-Williams) and Owen Vaughan (Sion Alun Davies) investigating a murder that leads to two brothers, one with Down syndrome and the other his caretaker. On the personal front, Cadi juggles a new relationship, selling the family home and considering a job offer in Liverpool.
