Worth Watching: ‘Expecting Amy,’ USA’s ‘Cannonball,’ HGTV Flips Across America
A selective critical checklist of notable Thursday TV:
Expecting Amy (streaming on HBO Max): Amy Schumer never holds back with her comedy, and the same holds true for her reality, as presented in a raw and revealing three-part documentary that follows the popular bawdy comedian through a difficult pregnancy which became the basis for an acclaimed stand-up special. Expecting Amy is also an intimate look at her marriage to Chris Fischer, whose diagnosis on the spectrum adds to the emotional challenges of staying funny while keeping it real.
Cannonball (8/7c, USA): Consider this a mission statement: “Shut off your brain and turn on the crazy!” So declares the WWE’s Mike “The Miz” Mizanin as he and fellow host Rocsi Diaz set up the challenges in this watery new addition to the extreme (and at times extremely funny) sports category. The setting is a water park of giant slides, catapults and other over-the-top devices to test contestants’ nerves. (The witless banter of the hosts and sideline reporter Simon Gibson will work some viewers’ nerves, so Mike’s “brain” warning is apt.) Episodes also air Sundays on NBC.
For more watery shenanigans, ABC’s Holey Moley (8/7c) welcomes The Bachelor‘s Chris Harrison for a “love-themed” episode in which eight singles compete for a romantic date if they don’t become all wet first.
Flipping Across America (8/7c, HGTV): A new competition compares the efforts of two sets of HGTV stars in different cities as they tackle properties with similar purchase prices and renovation budgets. Host Alison Victoria (Windy City Rehab) reveals who turned the tidier profit and made the most of their resources to declare a winner. First up: Boise Boys‘ Clint Robertson and Luke Caldwell in Idaho vs. Vintage Flip‘s Jessie and Tina Rodriguez in California.
Inside Thursday TV: Joining the deep animation library on HBO Max, from Cartoon Network Studios: Close Enough, a surreal and frantic comedy about young parents of a 5-year-old daughter who share a home with their divorced best friends. One episode was enough for me… The BroadwayHD streaming service offers two ways to enjoy the Stephen Sondheim fairy-tale musical classic Into the Woods with the original 1987 Broadway cast, featuring Bernadette Peters, and the 2010 West End revival, featuring the song “Our Little World” that was added after the Broadway production… The curtain falls on two shows from The CW with the season finales of Burden of Truth (8/7c), as Joanna (Kristen Kreuk) and Billy (Peter Mooney) prep their witnesses for the trail against ClearDawn labs; and In the Dark (9/8c), where betrayals lead to disastrous consequences.
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