Back to the ‘Futurama,’ CW Comedies from Canada, ‘Golden Boy’ Oscar De La Hoya, the Webb Space Telescope
Hulu revives the cult animated comedy Futurama after a 10-year hiatus. The CW imports two Canadian comedies, the nostalgic Son of a Critch and the frenetic Children Ruin Everything. A two-part HBO documentary profiles boxing great Oscar De La Hoya. The final installment of Netflix’s Unknown docuseries goes behind the scenes of the launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.
Futurama
Season Premiere
“How does a show get canceled this many times on this many networks?” That’s irreverent robot Bender making one of many in-jokes as Matt Groening and David X. Cohen’s hilarious animated cult comedy emerges from hibernation after 10 years for a long-awaited 11th season of gag-filled futuristic farce. (The series previously aired on Fox and Comedy Central before finding new life on the streamer.) The opener brings Fry, Leela and the rest of the gang into the year 3023, with former delivery boy Fry declaring a new life goal: to watch every TV show ever made, with the help of newfangled bingeing goggles. Even a professional TV watcher could tell him that’s a bad idea. (Pro tip: Freeze frame Fry’s TV screen to enjoy the plethora of mock TV-show titles worthy of a Mad magazine parody, samples including “Better Call Cthulu,” “Alien vs. Predator vs. Bluey,” “Fleaborg” and “TCU Hypnotoads vs. Georgia Bulldogs.”)
Son of a Critch
Series Premiere
Missing the 1980s now that The Goldbergs is history? This low-key charmer of a Canadian import, based on the coming-of-age memoir of comedy writer and actor Mark Critch (who narrates and plays his own dad), provides a gentler dose of ’80s-era family-sitcom nostalgia. It’s set in 1986 Newfoundland (“the middle of nowhere”), where 11-year-old Mark (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) is entering junior high with high anxiety. He’s an old soul whose idea of a good time is attending wakes with his irascible grandpa (scene-stealer Malcolm McDowell) and quoting Don Rickles, which makes him an odd boy out in the bullying schoolyard. His gossipy mom (Claire Rankin) tells Mark to “just be yourself,” which would be easier if he knew who he was.
Children Ruin Everything
Series Premiere
Previously seen on The Roku Channel, and less edgy (and profane) than FX’s Breeders, this comedy from Canada stars Hawaii Five-0’s Meaghan Rath as harried stay-at-home mom Astrid, who believes she’s ready to return to the workplace after four years and two kids. She has the support, mostly, of husband James (Aaron Abrams), whose own boss wishes he would dress more professionally—less like a dad. But how will he react when she confesses she’d like to have another baby to “complete” the family?
The Golden Boy
Series Premiere
A two-part documentary (concluding Tuesday) gives boxing great Oscar De La Hoya, now 50, the opportunity to tell his story in his own words. With commentary from family, associates and a few of his exes, he speaks of triumph—rising from East Los Angeles to win Olympic gold in 1992 (fulfilling his late mother’s dream) and 11 titles in six different weight classes—but also of a darker reality beneath the glittery façade of fame and fortune.
Unknown: Killer Robots
Season Finale
The far-reaching docuseries concludes with “Cosmic Time Machine,” spotlighting the scientists and engineers involved in developing and launching NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, described as “our next giant leap in our search for life” and the birth of the universe. It’s impossible not to share their enthusiasm for cracking more mysteries of the cosmos.
INSIDE MONDAY TV:
- Great White Fight Club (8/7c, Discovery): Shark Week continues with experts in the waters of New Zealand seeking evidence of the dominance of female great whites. Followed by Monster of Bermuda Triangle (9/8c) and Alien Sharks: Strange New Worlds (10/9c).
- The Bachelorette (8/7c, ABC): Now at an earlier time, the looking-for-love reality series takes Charity Lawson and her six remaining swains through New Orleans before she decides who’ll stick around for the hometown visits.
- Cruel Summer (10/9c, Freeform): Luke (Griffin Gluck) takes stock of his teenage life, his tangled relationships, and the pressure of living up to the “Chambers” name.
- Eat Your Catfish (10/9c, PBS): This POV documentary has a uniquely affecting point-of-view: that of Kathryn, a mother living with late-stage ALS who is determined to make it to her daughter’s wedding day. Her son Noah Amir Ariomand is one of the film’s co-directors and producers, candidly showing the toll the disease also takes on family caregivers.
