Drama Thriller ‘Cruel Summer’ Premieres, ‘Young Rock’ Prepares For a Fight, Supergirl Finds Her Way Home
Hi, TV Insider’s other critic Linda Maleh here! While Matt Roush is on a much deserved vacation, I’ll be bringing you our daily picks for what’s Worth Watching so that you never miss a moment of great television:
A kidnapping case involving two teenage girls unravels on Cruel Summer’s series premiere. Lia (Ana Tuisila) works to take back control of Hawaii’s wrestling business from her rival on Young Rock. Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath) tries to find her place among the Super Friends while Kara (Melissa Benoist) is gone.
Cruel Summer
Series Premiere
Head back to the 90s with the premiere of this young adult psychological thriller in the vein of Pretty Little Liars (but with better writing) from executive producer Jessica Biel (The Sinner). Set over the course of three summers, popular girl Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt, Cloak & Dagger) gets kidnapped, and the dorky Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia, Tell Me Your Secrets) is somehow implicated. This episode takes place on Jeanette’s birthday in 1993, 1994, and 1995, showcasing just how drastically her life changes throughout the three years. Come for the puzzle-box style mystery, stay for the exploration of what it’s like to be a teen girl in America.
Young Rock
In this episode of the sitcom about wrestling and acting heavyweight Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson’s childhood, it’s 1982 and Dewey’s (Adrian Groulx) a little kid in Hawaii. Following Greg Yao (Ronny Chieng) trying to poach all of her wrestlers, including Dewey’s father Rocky (Joseph Lee Anderson), Lia (Dewey’s tough as nails wrestling promoter grandmother) prepares to hit back. Dewey has his own battle to fight when he encounters some bullies on the beach, and tries to follow the Johnson way of standing up for oneself. Meanwhile, Ata (Stacey Leilua) finds out she has a callback for Star Search, but has to contemplate what this might mean for the future of her family.
Supergirl
Kara/Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) thankfully finds a way to escape the Phantom Zone but it comes with some dangerous strings attached. Back on Earth, Lena Luthor steps up in Kara’s absence to help the Super Friends against the Phantoms, but when she disagrees with their course of action, she wonders whether she’s truly ready to be part of the team
Kenan
An episode parents with children schooling remotely can relate to, when a teacher’s strike develops at Kenan’s (Kenan Thompson) twin girls’ (Dani and Dannah Lockett) school, everyone has to find ways to keep the girls occupied, with Rick (Don Johnson) setting up a schoolroom in the morning show conference room. Ok, so maybe not so relatable.
Inside Tuesday TV:
● Sasquatch (streaming on Hulu) – The three-part docu-series about journalist David Holthouse’s investigation into the possible existence of a sasquatch/bigfoot-like creature drops today. After hearing about a case where three men were torn apart by some sort of creature, David now returns to the Redwoods in Northern California 25 years later to learn more.
● NCIS (8/7c, CBS): Mark Harmon’s real-life wife is back! In the second of a four episode run, Pam Dawber (Mork & Mindy) guest stars as relentless investigative journalist Marcie Warren as she goes head to head with the suspended head of NCIS Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Harmon).
● Black-ish (9/8c, ABC): When Andre Junior (Marcus Scribner) and Olivia (Katlyn Nichol) invite Bow (Tracee Ellis Ross) and Dre (Anthony Anderson) over for dinner in their new apartment, the parents become concerned about the young couple’s living conditions.
● Big Sky (10/9c, ABC): New threats arise as Cassie (Kylie Bunbury) and Jenny (Katheryn Winnick) each face an attempt to run them out of town while Jerrie (Jesse James Keitel) has a dangerous encounter of her own.
● Chad (10:30/9:30c, TBS): Chad (Nasim Pedrad) takes his mom’s break-up with her boyfriend especially hard, and goes out of his way to try to get him, and his chance at a father figure, back.
