Double the Rachel Weisz in ‘Dead Ringers,’ Elephants and Other Big Beasts, Echoes of ‘Magnum’ on ‘Blue Bloods,’ Judy Blume Forever
Rachel Weisz stars as troubled twin ob-gyns in a limited-series remake of David Cronenberg’s creepy 1988 film Dead Ringers. With Earth Day looming, National Geographic explores the world of elephants while Apple TV+ launches a nature series about Big Beasts including the elephant seal. Larry Manetti, the original Rick on the 1980s Magnum, P.I., appears on his co-star Tom Selleck’s series Blue Bloods as a grieving grandfather. A Prime Video documentary salutes Judy Blume, whose young-adult novels sparked controversy and influenced generations.
Dead Ringers
Series Premiere
One of David Cronenberg’s creepiest films—and that’s saying something—gets a gender-swapped remake in a six-episode limited series starring Oscar winner Rachel Weisz in the roles of Elliot and Beverly Mantle, originally played by Jeremy Irons in the 1988 film. They’re just as unnerving as the brilliant twin ob-gyns whose extremely close relationship includes the occasional swapping of identities. Beverly is the more demure of the two, but when she begins a relationship with an actress (Britne Oldford) that sparks the more adventurous Elliot’s jealousy, the psychosexual fallout will be intense.
Secrets of the Elephants
Series Premiere
The acclaimed Secrets of franchise turns its focus to the majestic elephant in a four-part docuseries (launching with two episodes) narrated by Natalie Portman. With National Geographic Explorer-at-Large James Cameron as executive producer and Explorer/elephant expert Dr. Paula Kahumbu providing commentary, the series travels from desert to forest to show these animals in their natural habitat, starting in the opening hour with the harsh conditions of the Namib Desert in Namibia.
Big Beasts
Series Premiere
You can tell Earth Day (April 22) is coming when a flurry of nature specials arrives to dazzle the eye and stir one’s appreciation for the animals trying to survive in this world despite us. A new 10-part documentary from the makers of Tiny World (airing two episodes a week through May 19), narrated by Loki’s Tom Hiddleston, opens a lens on some of the planet’s most massive creatures, starting with the grey whale and the four-ton elephant seal. The series, filmed over two years, will feature in future weeks the giant otter, the hippopotamus, brown bear, ostrich, orangutan, tiger and polar bear.
Blue Bloods
Original Magnum, P.I. co-star Larry Manetti (the 1980s Rick) pays a visit to his former colleague Tom Selleck’s long-running police drama. They don’t share scenes, given that his storyline as the grieving grandfather of a victim of a fentanyl overdose involves Frank’s son Jamie (Will Estes) and Eddie (Vanessa Ray) when they set out to bust the drug dealer who’s responsible for this and other deaths. Commissioner Frank (Selleck) stays busy clashing once again with Mayor Chase (Dylan Walsh) over a new wave of immigrants arriving in New York City.
Judy Blume Forever
Documentary Premiere
The trailblazing author of influential young-adult fiction, now 85, reflects on her own coming-of-age story in an admiring documentary that includes animation and interviews with other authors and artists whose worldviews were shaped by Blume’s groundbreaking handling of puberty and sexuality. No stranger to controversy, Blume continues to speak out about censorship, as potent an issue now as it has ever been.
INSIDE FRIDAY TV:
- Fire Country (9/8c, CBS): While the Station 42 firefighters respond to a fire emergency at a wellness retreat, the third rock crew has an emergency of their own as they try to protect one of their members from an overdose.
- Dateline NBC (9/8c, NBC): An unusually twisty episode features correspondent Andrea Canning’s encounter with American fugitive Nicholas Rossi, accused of faking his death to evade the law, who now claims to be an Englishman named Arthur Knight, discovered in a Scottish hospital.
- Dear Mama (10/9c, FX): A five-part docuseries (launching with two episodes) from director/producer Allen Hughes profiles legendary rapper Tupac Shakur and his revolutionary mother Afeni in a stylized portrait that echoes from the 1970s to the 1990s, revealing the links between Black activism and hip-hop culture through the remarkable relationship of mother and son.
- Next at the Kennedy Center (10/9c, PBS): In the latest installment of the arts series, “Continuum: Jason Moran & Christian McBride,” the Grammy-winning jazz artists collaborate on piano and bass to honor the legacies of past masters including Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter and Louis Armstrong.
ON THE STREAM:
- A Tourist’s Guide to Love (streaming on Netflix): Romcom queen Rachael Leigh Cook (She’s All That) stars as a travel executive who learns to put down the guidebook when she heads to Vietnam after a breakup (with Superstore’s Ben Feldman) and falls for her expat tour guide (Scott Ly). Triangle alert!
- Ghosted (streaming on Apple TV+): Chris Evans and Blonde Oscar nominee Ana de Armas star in a romcom with an action-movie twist. He’s an average joe named Cole, and she’s the superhero, Sadie, who he only learns is a CIA agent on a dangerous mission after he tracks her down in London for what he thinks is a romantic gesture.
- Drops of God (streaming on Apple TV+): Based on a Japanese manga series, this provocative series filmed in English, French and Japanese pits Camille (Fleur Geffrier), the daughter of a recently deceased wine collector, against his greatest student, Issei (Tomohisa Yamashita), in a series of wine-tasting tests. The winner gets a $148 million inheritance of fine wines. I’ll drink to that.
- Wild Isles (streaming on Prime Video): Yet more Earth Day wonders to behold, as narrator Sir David Attenborough stays closer to home than usual to reveal the fascinating biodiversity of the British Isles.
