Carol Burnett, Tina Fey and ‘Dear White People’ on Netflix, ’20/20′ on Golden State Killer

Matt Roush
18 Comments
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Netflix

A selective critical checklist of notable Friday TV:

A Little Help with Carol Burnett (streaming on Netflix): We’re so glad to have any time together with the comedy legend, who turned 85 last month and still radiates youthful energy. The great Carol Burnett mixes it up, Kids Say the Darndest Things-style, with a panel of pint-sized kids under 10 who dispense precocious advice to celebrity guests. Among those seeking the help of Carol & Co. in the 12-episode season: Empire’s Taraji P. Henson, Lisa Kudrow, Mark Cuban, Wanda Sykes, Derek Hough and (ahem) Billy Eichmer, whose persona on Difficult People would probably have hated what sounds like a charming series.

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman (streaming on Netflix): Tina Fey is hotter than ever, having just conquered Broadway with the musical version of Mean Girls, nominated for 12 Tony Awards. She sits with Dave for another installment of the engaging talk series, discussing their children, mocking the vaping trend, and reflecting on her history at Saturday Night Live, a grind she doesn’t miss, especially these days: “The level of outrage is so high,” she says. “Talking to anyone anywhere is just landmine hopscotch.” In a highlight, she engages Letterman in an improv routine. And when she recommends an eatery from her Chicago days, Letterman heads to the Windy City to share some roasted chicken with local blues legend Buddy Guy.

What's Coming and Going From Netflix in May 2018
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What's Coming and Going From Netflix in May 2018

Dear White People (streaming on Netflix): Yes, if it’s Friday, that means yet more Netflix. Justin Simien’s provocative comedy about racial tensions at a fictional Ivy League college intensifies the satire with a swipe at the trolls of social media. Following last season’s climactic riot, displaced white students move into the predominantly black dorm on campus, a not altogether harmonious integration. Sam (Logan Browning) is especially on edge, harassed by anonymous tweets, as her “Dear White People” radio show comes under attack and an alt-white movement starts a “Dear Right People” rebuttal show. Vintage flashbacks expose Winchester University’s sorry record of race relations, and things are just as fraught in today’s “post-racial” cauldron of woke sensibilities.

The Netflix roster also includes a new John Woo action thriller, Manhunt, and the network’s first Danish-produced original series, Rain, a post-apocalyptic drama about young survivors of a virus that wiped out most of the adults in Scandinavia.

20/20 (10/9c, ABC): In a special report, correspondent Whit Johnson looks at the history and capture of Joseph DeAngelo, 72, the alleged “Golden State Killer” whose reign of terror in the 1970s and ’80s tallied 12 murders, more than 50 rapes and many home burglaries throughout California. Interviews include two survivors of the killer’s attacks and investigators including Paul Holes, who claims his DNA research cracked the case.

Inside Friday TV: CBS’s reboot of MacGyver (8/7c) wraps its second season with Mac (Lucas Till) planning to tell Matty (Meredith Eaton) that he’s quitting the Phoenix Foundation. The arrival of a man called Oversight (Tate Donovan) could complicate things. … The Epix docu-series America Divided returns (9/8c) with Fox News refugee and sexual harassment survivor Gretchen Carlson reporting on “Washington’s War on Women,” looking at a pervasive culture of sexual misconduct in the corridors of Congress. … A recurring co-star on NBC’s Rise and CBS’s Madam Secretary, where she plays the estranged spouse of real-life husband Sebastian Arcelus, Tony-nominated Stephanie J. Block (Falsettos) performs Broadway standards from Wicked, Gypsy and more in a Live From Lincoln Center concert (9/8c, check local listings at pbs.org). Followed by The Jazz Ambassadors (10/9c, check local listings at pbs.org), a documentary about how the U.S. sent jazz greats including Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington abroad in 1955 on an international mission to counter Cold War propaganda. Their musical message was clouded by Jim Crow realities of racial inequality back home.

20/20A Little Help With Carol BurnettDear White People (2017)My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman



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  1. G

    GreenElephant

    If "Saturday Night Live" is new this weekend, I sooooo hope Alec Baldwin returns as President Trump!

    1. C

      CyanCoathanger

      It is new, but you never know when he'll be on it.

  2. G

    GoldSubmarine

    ABC's Quantico was awesome last night. The showrunners weren't kidding when they announced that the show is stronger than ever.

    Tonight ABC's Once Upon a Time and Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nice too see AoS incorporating parts of the Avengers Infinity War movie into this new arc.

    NBC's Timeless and FX's Trust for Sunday.

    1. C

      CyanCoathanger

      Have you seen any of those Avengers movies? I haven't. In fact, I haven't even seen the predecessors to them like the Iron Man films.

    2. G

      GreenElephant

      I just watched the latest Avengers on Wednesday! Because of the multiple superheros in it, it probably helps to have seen most of the previous Marvel movies especially the last one on Black Panther...

    3. C

      CyanCoathanger

      I didn't think that would be necessary if I already know basically who the characters are and what they can do.

    4. G

      GoldSubmarine

      Yes, I've watched the Avenger movies and the other Marvel movies like Iron Man, Thor, Captain America.... on FX. Some in theatres.

      Truth is while these big budget movies are very entertaining for the most part, I do enjoy the Marvel shows more. Characters and storylines are better defined. Case in point, I'm extremely excited to watch AoS tonight. Basically the team has to save the world from aliens who want to enslave humans. They already traveled to the future and saw the results. So they have to attempt to change the timeline or loop.

      Very exciting stuff.

    5. C

      CyanCoathanger

      I don't know when you find the time to watch them on TV along with all your regular programs. I've seen some in the listings, but they always conflict with too many other shows I want to watch.

    6. G

      GreenElephant

      Well, some of the characters I didn't know from the comic books like BP and the Guardians of the Galaxy so watching both of them previously really helped when watching them in the latest Avengers flick...

    7. G

      GoldSubmarine

      Watching a movie here and there isn't really a difficult commitment . TV shows certainly are.

  3. R

    RedCupcake

    Let me guess..... On MacGyver, we're going to be led to believe that "Oversight" (Tate Donovan) is Mac's father? Of course, if that IS the conclusion we're supposed to follow, it would be too easy to be true.

    1. R

      RedCupcake

      So have we heard of Oversight before? Or is this one of those convenient things that never pop up in regular life, but end up being vitally important?

    2. C

      CyanCoathanger

      I don't remember hearing it before, but I miss a lot of those subtle hints.

    3. R

      RedCupcake

      I don't think it's ever been mentioned. Mattie has always been the "boss" at Phoenix, as far as has been mentioned for two whole seasons. Like I said, it's a weak TV trope of someone being suddenly mentioned as if that person has existed all along and all the characters know him (or know OF him).

      And apparently I was wrong, I figured Oversight would NOT be Mac's father, and they'd string us along for another season.

      SPOILER!

      But it was good to see Mac walk away at the end.

    4. C

      CyanCoathanger

      I believe I've said it before, but....you think too much! It's only a TV show!

    5. R

      RedCupcake

      Well, I've seen this phenomenon before in other shows. It's an actual TV trope. It would be like an episode of Designated Survivor in which people keep mentioning someone named Jill, as in they had lunch with Jill, or had a meeting with Jill, or we see Jill talking to the others in a very freindly, familiar way, and come to find out that Jill is the Secretary of Transportation, and even though we've never seen or heard of her before, she is suddenly vitally important to the current storyline. (Ret-conning)

    6. C

      CyanCoathanger

      I either don't notice or don't pay any attention to such things.

  4. C

    CyanCoathanger

    MacGyver and MasterChef Jr. for me.