Worth Watching: ‘Pose’ and ‘Animal Kingdom’ Finales, ‘Real Sports’
A selective critical checklist of notable Tuesday TV:
Pose (10/9c, FX): In a supersized season finale that’s as full of incident as it is of heart, tears may flow amid the jubilation as the series improbably finds a way to give these trans divas and their loyal families yet another euphoric sendoff. There’s pain amid the partying, when Blanca (the sensational Mj Rodriguez) suffers a health setback amid worries that anyone is still there for her now that House of Evangelista is an empty one. Angel (Indya Moore) also faces a speed bump of a reality check in her modeling career. And yet the brotherhood and sisterhood of these marvelous characters always finds a way to rally, and you won’t want to miss what happens at the annual “Mother of the Year” ball, where a new category reminds everyone just what it takes to walk in these very demanding heels.
Animal Kingdom (9/8c, TNT): Not every season ending is a happy one, and this crime melodrama wraps its fourth year with the Codys reeling from last week’s shocking event [SPOILER ALERT]: the loss of their matriarch, Smurf (Ellen Barkin), in whose memory the season finale is named. Even as the family faces enemies from the past and present sensing vulnerability in their ranks, look for the tension between Pope (Shawn Hatosy) and J (Finn Cole) to reach epic proportions.
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (10/9c, HBO): A jam-packed installment of the Emmy-winning sports newsmagazine includes Jon Frankel’s interview with Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, seeking a comeback at 35 (after winning gold at the U.S. Nationals) that he hopes can restore his tarnished image. Bernard Goldberg profiles star Baltimore Ravens placekicker Justin Tucker, whose off-the-field career of singing opera (in seven languages!) helps his concentration on the gridiron, and Soledad O’Brien investigates the high incidence of heat stroke killing high-school football players. Host Gumbel revisits pro golfer Ken Green, the subject of a 2010 Real Sports profile after a devastating RV accident that resulted in the death of his girlfriend and brother and the loss of a leg. In a new memoir, Green reveals he was sexually abused in his youth.
Inside Tuesday TV: Comedies signing off for the season include Comedy Central’s inspired sketch show Alternatino with Arturo Castro (10:30/9:30c), including a swipe at Netflix’s bottomless catalogue of shows no one’s ever heard of; and TBS’s The Detour (10:30/9:30c), in which Nate (Jason Jones) prepares to take a new Russian bride in order to rescue his family. As one does… Don’t you hate when this happens? On The CW’s Pandora (8/7c), someone hacks Pilar’s (Banita Sendhu) bio-organic implants, and it’s up to Jax (Priscilla Quintana) and Ralen (Ben Radcliffe) to find the hacker and stop the damage.
