Worth Watching: ‘Hawaii’-‘Magnum’ Crossover, ‘High School Musical’ Opening Night, ‘Country Music’ Repeats, More ‘Extreme Love’
A selective critical checklist of notable Friday TV:
Hawaii Five-0/Magnum P.I. (8/7c and 9/8c, CBS): The long-awaited crossover of the Aloha State reboots has finally arrived — which may explain why Five-0′s McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) is driving fellow former SEAL Magnum’s (Jay Hernandez) cherry red Ferrari in one scene. The action begins on Hawaii Five-0 when Team McGarrett turns to Magnum, Higgins (Perdita Weeks) & Co. to help retrieve a list of undercover CIA agents that may have been stolen by one of the P.I.’s marks. In the second hour, Hawaii‘s Tani (Meaghan Rath) and Quinn (Katrina Law) lean on Team Magnum for rescue assistance after their colleague Junior (Beulah Koale) is kidnapped and the CIA benches the rest of the Five-O agents.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (streaming on Disney+): The show must go on, and as the curtain pulls back on opening night in the season’s penultimate episode, the cast is rocked by the presence of some unexpected audience members. (Look for the Act 2 finale next Friday.) In other musical news, the Encore! series travels to Louisville to reunite former classmates from Youth Performing Arts High School to recreate a production of ’70s classic Pippin from 35 years ago. Will there be “Magic to Do?”
Country Music (9/8c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): In case you weren’t part of the 34.5 million viewers who got caught up in Ken Burns‘ celebrated docuseries about the history and legacy of country music, PBS is repeating the eight-part opus in more manageable weekly two-hour chunks, on Fridays through Feb. 21. The first night, “The Rub,” provides an evocative overview and charts the beginnings of the national musical sensation through the impact of early radio stations carrying these catchy heartland tunes to rural audiences. In the first of many biographical portraits, Burns traces the short but influential career of early country legend Jimmie Rodgers.
Extreme Love (10/9c, WE tv): Under the heading of “It Takes All Kinds,” the kinky docuseries returns for a second season of nonjudgmental glimpses into unconventional relationships. Among those profiled in the opener: a woman from Berlin who is deeply in love with a Boeing 737. (Is “Come Fly With Me” her theme song?) Preceded by a new season of the spinoff Love After Lockup: Life After Lockup, following seven fan-favorite couples as they try to build lives together on the outside.
Inside Friday TV: Streaming highlights include a final season of Netflix’s Anne with an E, in which the title heroine (Amybeth McNulty) begins exploring her origin story as her 16th birthday approaches… Broad City‘s Ilana Glazer makes her stand-up debut on Amazon Prime Video with Ilana Glazer: The Planet Is Burning, which seems an appropriate sentiment for this outspoken comedian… In what could be the creepiest episode yet of Servant on Apple TV+, Uncle Julian (Rupert Grint) babysits the mysterious Jericho and is forced to relive a dark memory.
