Worth Watching: ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Returns, Three New ‘Black Mirror’ Episodes, ‘grown-ish,’ CMT Music Awards
A selective critical checklist of notable Wednesday TV:
The Handmaid’s Tale (streaming on Hulu): Feeling more relevant than ever in its third season, the dystopian drama reveals a more active resistance movement against the oppressive Gilead regime when June (Elisabeth Moss) returns from sending her newborn baby north to Canada with Emily (Alexis Bledel). The fallout is most dramatically immediate in the home of the Waterfords, as Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) wrestles with her decision, while June adjusts to life in the household of mercurial and mysterious Commander Lawrence (a droll Bradley Whitford). Is he friend or foe? Either way, June is in for the long fight, remembering in voice over in the third episode, “There was a time when women were able to choose.” Any resemblance to current political battles is hardly accidental.
Black Mirror (streaming on Netflix): A fifth season of Charlie Brooker’s tech-driven anthology arrives with three new cautionary tales, several more hopeful in tone than the norm. Stars include Anthony Mackie, who discovers unexpected passions through his video-game avatar; Andrew Scott (Fleabag‘s “hot priest”) in a hostage-taking parable; and Miley Cyrus as a pop star whose new marketing tool, a chatty AI robot doll, takes on a life of its own. (See the full review.)
grown-ish (8/7c, Freeform): It may be summer, but school is back in session for Zoey (Yara Shahidi) and her college pals as the black-ish spinoff continues its second season. Life lessons are on the syllabus when Zoey deals with the consequences of being caught cheating on an exam, causing her parents to cut her off financially. Adding to the angst: her discovery that Aaron (Trevor Jackson) and Ana (Francia Raisa) have been hooking up.
2019 CMT Music Awards (8/7c, CMT, MTV, TV Land, Paramount Network): Expanding its reach to multiple channels in a first-ever simulcast, CMT’s ceremony from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena is hosted by Grammy winning country group Little Big Town, and features what CMT promises is a record-breaking number of performances. Among the country stars on the roster: Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Kelsea Ballerini, Zac Brown Band and plenty of collaborations, including Brandi Carlile with Tanya Tucker, Brett Young and Boyz II Men, Thomas Rhett with Little Big Town and Trombone Shorty, and Sheryl Crow performing with Maren Morris.
Inside Wednesday TV: In a new twist for an old favorite on CBS’s The Amazing Race (8/7c), racers engage in the first-ever public U-turn, in which they have to vote in front of each other. So much for backstabbing… The Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors are tied with a win each, raising the stakes for the third game of ABC’s NBA Finals (9/8c)… Investigation Discovery’s new true-crime series Lone Star Justice (10/9c) introduces larger-than-life Sheriff J.B. Smith of Smith County, Texas, and his team of detectives as they recount memorable cases. First up: the 2010 gunshot slaying of a 19-year-old college student who was discovered by her younger brother.
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O
God, VIACOM channels really suck!!
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R
Nothing new for me. Just two episodes of The Librarians.
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G
Blood & Treasure was fun to watch last night. Although the commercial breaks were sometimes at the oddest times. It's like CBS tried to squeeze more ads in the middle of a scene. Most breaks are when a scene is over or at a suspenseful period or cliffhanger of sorts.
Tonight I'll check out episode two of NBC's InBetween. The pilot was very intriguing. Hoping it remains so tonight.
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C
I've noticed reruns where they stick the commercials in at the wrong times.
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R
Yes, I enjoyed B&T also. So it looks like the guy from the Carabinieri is part of that Brotherhood group? Looks like he's the one who 'rescued' that man in Libya and then killed him. Is that right? So while he's not in league with Farouk, he's still a bad guy, I guess.
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G
Yes, I notice that too. And they edit certain scenes to speed up the show so they can squeeze in more ads. But Blood & Treasure is first run CBS show, so seems odd.
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G
I think you right about him. Although with these kinds of shows you never know. He could end being the hero in the end and playing undercover.
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R
As far as I can tell, back in 1942, the Germans who entered the pyramid tomb were attacked (by the Brotherhood, I assume), but the Nazis were able to steal Cleopatra anyway. Not sure why or how I have that impression; did they show that?? Anyway, I think the Brotherhood is going to end up being some group sworn to protect Egyptian antiquities (or maybe dedicated specifically to Cleopatra through the ages), and will end up sharing Danny's (and his mentor the archaeologist played by Alicia Coppola)'s desire to get the Cleopatra back to Egypt. So they'll end up working together. Just guess, of course.
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G
I'm interested in what powers a deceased Cleopatra has. They mentioned when she is with the dead Mark Antony or Caesar they can be a massive weapon of some sort.
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R
Not surprising that the Nazis would have believed that. They were very occult-crazy.
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G
I'm predicting that this show will delve into some supernatural elements. It's like a hybrid of Indiana Jones, Romancing the Stone and the TV show Hooten and the Lady. But this one is heavily serialized. Hooten and the Lady (still can't believe they went with this title) was mostly closed ended every episode.
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R
Well, the supernatural elements sure worked for Indiana Jones, so why not? 😀 Regardless, it's just an interesting show to watch during the summer.
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G
Yes it sure is! Some parts of it remind me of Magnum . That's a compliment because Magnum consistently entertained me all season long!
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C
Looks like Amazing Race, MasterChef, and InBetween again!
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