Worth Watching: Jeffrey Wright in ‘O.G.,’ The Host-less Oscars, ‘True Detective’ Finale
A selective critical checklist of notable weekend TV:
O.G. (Saturday, 10/9c, HBO): Authenticity is everything in this intense and immersive, if overly familiar, prison-drama movie. Filmed on location at an active maximum-security facility in Indiana, with inmates and staff doubling as actors and extras, O.G. compensates with realism what it lacks in originality. The mesmerizing Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) stars as Louis, a former top dog about to released after 24 years (of a 60-year sentence). This character study juggles multiple plots as it depicts Louis’s final days in captivity — complicated by his desire to convey wisdom to a vulnerable new inmate (Theothus Carter) who’s being recruited by a dangerous gang. A wrenching scene involving Louis’s cathartic encounter with a relative of his victim becomes almost an afterthought amid the melodramatic jumble.
The 91st Annual Academy Awards (Sunday, 8/7c, 5 PT, ABC): Or, in short — though never short enough — the Oscars. This year there’s no host, which is one way ABC is counting on to shorten the show. (Earlier attempts to omit a few of the nominated songs, or push some categories into the commercial breaks, were dropped after backlash.) Maybe a sharper focus on the most exciting aspects of this year’s movies would make for a better show. (Check out our wish list of ways to fix the Oscars.) Some categories are easy to pick: Rami Malek of Bohemian Rhapsody and “Shallow,” the Lady Gaga-Bradley Cooper show-stopper from A Star Is Born. But the big prize for Best Picture could go any number of ways, to an art-house fave from Netflix (Roma), a superhero blockbuster (Black Panther), a feel-good crowd-pleaser (Green Book) or a naughty period piece (The Favourite).
True Detective (Sunday, 9/8c, HBO): Most networks go into repeat mode against events like the Oscars, but not HBO and the engrossing third season of its atmospheric crime drama. The season finale promises to at last reveal the truth behind the Purcell case, which has been unfolding all season across three distinct timelines — in 1980, 1990 and 2015 — as Arkansas detective Wayne Hays (an Emmy-worthy Mahershala Ali) tries to piece his memories together. Dark secrets have been revealed, but can Old Wayne’s cloudy mind make sense of it all?
Inside Weekend TV: As wonderful as nature series like Dynasties can be, the stories behind the scenes are just as fascinating — which is why BBC America’s The Making of Dynasties (Saturday, 9/8c) comes highly recommended, following crews from the BBC’s Natural History Unit as they spend four years — over 1,000 days in the field — to capture images from Africa and India to Antarctica… More TV for animal lovers: the seventh season of Nat Geo WILD’s Dr. K’s Exotic Animal ER (Sunday, 9/8c), with Dr. Susan Kelleher treating everything from a wounded macaw to a self-mutilating bush baby at South Florida’s Broward Avian and Exotics Animal Hospital… The sixth season of Hallmark Channel’s longest-running drama, When Calls the Heart (Sunday, 8/7c), opens with widowed Elizabeth (Erin Krakow) now a single mother learning on her Hope Valley neighbors for support.
Conversation18 Comments
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Tonight, it's last Sunday's Victoria and Margaret plus another new Planet Earth: Dynasties.
Tomorrow, I've still got a lot of shows in addition to the Oscars: Walking Dead, Talking Dead, Evan Goes Wild, The Zoo, and Worst Cooks!
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So there are a number of first run shows airing against the all-mighty Oscars. I'm sure they will take a significant ratings hit.
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I'm not so sure. Walking Dead fans are a dedicated lot. Animal Planet and Food just run their programming without regard to what the other networks are doing. They all repeat their shows all night too, so fans can watch the Oscars and their weekly shows too.
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I usually don't watch The Oscars...(I haven't even thought of going to a movie theater for, at least, the last 40 years)...but...the promos stating that the show will begin with "Queen with Adam Lambert"...assures that I'll be there for, at least, the first 30 minutes!!!
There's so much to watch on TV...(and the ol' DVR)...that I really don't have time for "fluff". So I'll ignore the "Sneak Peek" of Whiskey Cavalier on tonight...and just start with its "Premier" episode on Wednesday.
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People used to watch the Oscars because it was one of the few times they could see a lot of big Hollywood stars. Nowadays, they
can see the stars every day on social media and in the tabloids. The ceremony has lost what once made it special.
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If Black Panther wins Best Picture, I'll be smiling...ETA: By the way, R.I.P. Stanley Donen
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I've never been an awards show person. Just not into sitting there watching hours of just seeing people being handed something and long speeches lol If I want to see a specific actor or writer, director etc receive their award I'd rather watch a clip on youtube so if Spike Lee wins something i'll check it out there. Besides perhaps alienating certain people with politics hurting them its gotta also be that technology has made it that you don't have to sit there and watch long hours of award shows but can catch them online
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I like to watch for the musical performances and some of the visuals. I'm also always curious to see what programs ABC will be promoting during the Oscars. I'm sure Whiskey Cavalier and American Idol will be heavily plugged.
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Only thing new for me tonight is Ransom (CBS), and tomorrow the only thing is The Zoo. Otherwise.... well, it's a good weekend to catch up on sleep. :-p
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Yeah, with so much good TV lately its hard to sleep! Btw cable news channels puts me to sleep best. They repeat the same stuff constantly from one program to the next, I easily fall asleep : )
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its funny for me most of the "new" shows I'm watching are shows that are classic shows I never seen like The Odd Couple, Honeymooners, Barney Miller, Hart to Hart, Columbo, Rockford etc. I barely sleep because I'm behind so much
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Sometimes I fall asleep without even realizing I'm that tired, or that I'm drifting off. Guess that means I'm getting old, lol.
I know nobody else watches it, but tonight's episode of Ransom was quite good.
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I usually leave Animal Planet on all night or BBC America when they're running nature shows.
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My mom does. As I mentioned many times before she watches more TV than anyone I know. Just about everything on broadcast and loads of cable but no streaming. She said if she included streaming ( in which she doesn't have a desire to subscribe anyway) there would be no time to cook, eat , bathe and sleep.
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I've enjoyed all those shows over the years, mostly in reruns. My brother's favorite was Rockford, which I enjoyed too, but Columbo is and was tops for me.
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Was it you that said you find that Doris Day song Que Sera Sera annoying? Well Samsung has a commercial (featured during the Oscars) playing just that song.
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Hmm, I don't recall saying that about Que Sera, Sera. Although to be honest it's not a song I'd choose to listen to. But who knows, maybe I did say it. ?? :-p ??
Without my usual shows on, there is absolutely NOTHING to watch this evening. I watched The Zoo (new ep) at 8, but not much since. Even repeats of Big Bang are episodes which I don't care to watch again. Right now I'm watching Forensic Files on CNN. Or perhaps I should say on HLN... same thing.)
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I'm the one who said it. Thankfully, I didn't notice it during the broadcast.
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