Worth Watching: HBO’s ‘Black Lady Sketch Show,’ ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Finale, ‘Descendents 3,’ a Sci-Fi ‘Master’ Profiled
A selective critical checklist of notable Friday TV:
A Black Lady Sketch Show (11/10c, HBO): BET’s loss is a big win for HBO, with a new showcase for the gifted comedian Robin Thede. The former head writer for The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, then short-lived host of her own The Rundown on BET, Thede now stars in, executive produces (with Insecure‘s Issa Rae) and writes this uproarious and fast-paced ensemble comedy of wide-ranging sketches featuring co-stars Ashley Nicole Black, Gabrielle Dennis and Quinta Brunson. A framing device finds the uninhibited foursome playing “Never Have I Ever” and other diversions while the apocalypse rages outside, and it’s hard to imagine anyone whose company would be more welcome at the end of the world. Among the guests in the opener: Angela Bassett, Laverne Cox and Nicole Byer, with sketches including an outrageous send-up of a Temptations-like Motown group and a segment introducing “Trinity, the Invisible Spy”— an inspired commentary on body image and perceptions of beauty. It’s all worth staying up for.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (8/7c, ABC): After a harrowing season filled with parasitic aliens and other cosmic dangers, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team must find a way to prevent the oncoming end of everything in a two-hour finale. While casualties are always a possibility with this crew, we figure they’ll avert at least enough disaster to be able to carry fans into a final season next summer.
Descendants 3 (8/7c Disney Channel): While as jubilant as any musical fantasy, the latest in the Descendants series has a poignant undertone for the many fans of Disney star Cameron Boyce, who passed away last month at the young age of 20 from a seizure. He plays Carlos, son of the infamous Cruella de Vil and one of the “VKs” — aka Villain Kids — who return to the Isle of the Lost in hopes of closing the barrier to the free nation of Auradon. Cheyenne Jackson joins the Descendants family as the notorious Hades, who teams with devious Uma (China Ann McClain), the daughter of The Little Mermaid‘s Ursula, to thwart the good kids’ best intentions. As always, expect plenty of enchanted singing and dancing.
American Masters: Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin (9/8c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): The influential sci-fi author of the Earthsea series and the breakthrough feminist classic The Left Hand of Darkness (marking its 50th anniversary this year) is profiled in a new documentary featuring excerpts of candid interviews conducted before her death in 2018. Her impact is discussed by famous literary fans including Neil Gaiman, The Handmaid’s Tale‘s Margaret Atwood, Michael Chabon and David Mitchell.
Inside Friday TV: As Discovery’s Shark Week begins to wind down, specials include Isle of Jaws: Blood Brothers (8/7c), in which a team of explorers heads back to the West Australian isle to investigate two sharks believed to be kin; and Andrew Mayne: Ghost Diver (9/8c), featuring the illusionist and inventor whose goal is to create an innovative “Shark Suit” that would render him invisible to the underwater predators… Marianne Williamson, whose profile has risen lately as one of the seemingly thousands of candidates for the Democratic presidential nominations, is the mid-show interview guest on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher (10/9c)… What’s worth streaming? Consider Netflix’s starry Otherhood, a movie from Sex and the City‘s Cindy Chupack, about the friendship of three moms (Angela Bassett, Patricia Arquette and Felicity Huffman, filmed pre-college admissions scandal) who visit their neglectful sons in Manhattan. Also on Netflix: a third season of the provocative Dear White People, following the fortunes of students of color on a predominantly white Ivy League campus… Hulu continues its monthly series of graphic horror fables with Into the Dark: School Spirit, where ghostly scares are grafted onto a Breakfast Club-like story about misfits stuck in weekend detention. Unlike in the world of John Hughes, these high-schoolers are confronted by more than their own demons.
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Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 6 finale!
Already counting down the days for the season 7 premiere!
No show on TV is impressing me more . Each season improves upon the previous (for the most part).
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What a riveting 2 hours that was! My jaw dropped multiple times.
Next season should be radically different than past seasons judging from that last scene.
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S.H.I.E.L.D.has constantly disappointed me but i kept hoping for it to change. There policy started out as saying they were in the MCU and it wouldn't be constantly saying " Iron man just went that way" turned into lets take them to places where the MCU doesn''t "exist. " i.e. the future, the framework. etc. This year they didn't even bother to hide the fact that things do not take place in the MCU.
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Damn ready for AOS but had no clue that Dear White People was even back LOL jeez, that's not a good sign. Kinda fell off on that one after the first season. Not a bad show just felt good with that one season and didn't need anymore. I had no clue it was even coming back. Sure do miss Last Man, Andi Mack and Cool KIds on Friday nights but i'll find something else to watch on Fridays.
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Nothing new for me tonight.
Any Elementary fans out there? Last night's episode ended with quite a shocker. Although I wouldn't be surprised to see yet another shocker, in the form of a plot twist, next week. Speaking of which, it seems like this shortened (final) season has all been preparing and leading up to the title of next week's episode. 😉 :-p
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While I was watching The Outpost last night, CW plugged a replacement series called The Horror or something similar to that . I think we will have to wait a while for the season to resume.
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Correction, just read a comment from an Outpost fan that it will air in an earlier timeslot.
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Yes, they're moving Outpost to iZombie's slot at 8:00 and Two Sentence Horror Stories will air at 9:00.
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Re The Outpost: I confess I still don't understand the details on the two Blackbloods thing, who can summon monsters and how, etc. (And what happened to the little girl, the Dragman? Something mentioned last night led me to believe she's dead, but I don't recall anything about that.) Anyway, I do think the CGI is multitudes better than it was the first season--especially the first episode, which was really bad. And the fight scenes are more impressive than they used to be, also. Lastly, in the first 2 or 3 episodes of season one, I thought the plaguelings were going to be more prominent than they have been. It seemed to start out that way, but they've really fallen into the back seat (or the way-way-back seat) this season.
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This season seems to be more focused on the royalty aspect. I also don't fully understand the details about the Blackbloods and Plaguelings. But enjoying the show anyway.
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Tonight it's The Big Stage, American Masters, Great Performances, Killjoys, and Descendants 3!!!
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