Climbing High With Alex Honnold, Annaleigh Ashford Brings Cheer to ‘Stumble’ and ‘Drag Race,’ More Mel Brooks

Skyscraper Live

Watching Alex Honnold in action, the subject of 2018’s Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo, can be a breathtaking and nerve-wracking experience as he scales mountains and cliff faces without the benefit of ropes. In a two-hour livestreamed event, Honnold (now 40) attempts a new challenge: climbing one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, Taiwan’s Taipei 101, a 1,667-foot structure with perilous overhanging balconies. Your challenge: Watching without hiding your eyes between your fingers.

Stumble

Tony winner Annaleigh Ashford (CBS‘s B Positive) guest-stars on the cheerleading mockumentary when an AI company visits Heådltston as a potential site for a lucrative data center. Sensing an opportunity for corporate backing for her underdog cheer squad, Courteney (Jenn Lyon) tries to put her best foot forward — if she doesn’t end up putting her foot in her mouth.

In a happy coincidence, Ashford is doing double-duty tonight, also appearing on MTV‘s RuPaul’s Drag Race (8/7c) as a guest judge alongside stylist Law Roach. This week’s challenge puts the queens on the red carpet, creating unique looks by mashing up two different high-fashion styles.

Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!

Judd Apatow‘s terrifically entertaining biographical documentary concludes on a bittersweet note as the legendary Mel Brooks reflects on losing the love of his life, Anne Bancroft, to cancer — then surviving the death of his closest friend Carl Reiner, who passed away at 98 in 2020. Laughter continues to sustain the comedian-director as he approaches his 100th year, regaling live audiences with anecdotes at screenings. The documentary’s second half covers the making of the classic Young Frankenstein, released in 1974 in the wake of his breakthrough Blazing Saddles, plus fan favorites including the Star Wars parody Spaceballs and the more controversial History of the World, Part 1.

Spartacus: House of Ashur

Even with a groundbreaking female gladiator in his corner, Ashur (Nick E. Tarabay), the Syrian, can’t command respect in ancient Capua. His forbidden flirtation with widowed Roman noblewoman Viridia (India Shaw-Smith) is stymied by her parents’ machinations, and he risks public scorn by subbing a backup for his sensational new champion Achillia (Tenika Davis) in the ring when the gladiatrix suffers another injury. More cause for concern: his nemesis, Proculus (Simon Arblaster), promises to unveil a new secret weapon during the upcoming games.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White earned acclaim and a Golden Globe (though not an Oscar) nomination for his depiction of the superstar Bruce Springsteen in this biographical film, making its streaming debut. Deliver Me dramatizes Bruce Springsteen‘s personal and creative challenges while making his 1982 album Nebraska.

Also moving from the big screen to a streaming platform: the grueling The Smashing Machine, starring Golden Globe nominee Dwayne Johnson as MMA fighter Mark Kerr. (The film was nominated for a makeup/hairstyling Oscar). For the family audience, the live-action/animated spinoff Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie arrives on Peacock.

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• Happy’s Place (8/7c, NBC): When Gabby (Melissa Peterman) suspects she may be expecting, she gets her friends at the bar talking about baby names. And Isabella (Belissa Escobedo) may regret booking Dakota’s (Tokala Black Elk) band as entertainment.
• Dateline NBC (9/8c, NBC): Andrea Canning reports on the 2013 death of South Texas mother Patricia Leigh Mills in a house fire, which raised suspicions when her husband married another woman 3 months later.
• Real Time With Bill Maher (10/9c, HBO): The irreverent host returns with commentary and conversation, opening his 24th season with a one-on-one interview with retired U.S. Army Major General Paul Eaton, and panelists including Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy and CNN anchor Kasie Hunt.