Saturday TV: Not Really Very Much, Frankly
On the new six-part documentary series “Farm Dreams” (Nat Geo Wild, 10 p.m.), a nature specialist with the splendid name of Indy Officinalis (pictured) helps farmers go into aqua, micro,…
Friday TV: Beanie Babies’ Rise and Fall
Zach Galifianakis stars as the super eccentric Ty Warner, creator of Beanie Babies, in the new feature “The Beanie Bubble” (Apple TV+, streaming) that depicts how women were really behind the…
Thursday TV: Ellie Kemper Takes a Hike
Ellie Kemper plays a divorcee who hikes the Appalachian Trail with strangers in the rom-com “Happiness for Beginners” (Netflix, streaming), based on Katherine Center’s novel of the same name. Luke…
Other Things I’ve Written Recently
A story about the Robert Houle exhibition "Red is Beautiful" at the National Museum of the American Indian, for Smithsonian Magazine.com. A review of a revival of the musical "Fela!"…
Wednesday TV: Shark Week Spills to HBO
How has the acquisition of HBO by Discovery-Warner Bros. changed its programming? Look no further than Ivy Meeropol’s documentary “After the Bite” (HBO, 10 p.m.) about the effects of a…
Tuesday TV: ‘Jim Gaffigan: Dark Pale’
“Jim Gaffigan: Dark Pale” (Prime Video, streaming), his 10th standup special, is probably so named because he’ll address dark topics despite being pale. But maybe that refers to something else. …
Monday TV: Two New Canadian Comedies
As American scripted fare reaches a standstill, new shows come in from the North, with two new Canadian comedies debuting tonight. “Son of a Critch” (CW, 8 p.m.), pictured above,…
Sunday TV: ‘Special Ops: The Lioness’
Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman are a couple of the big names involved in the new anti-terrorism action series “Special Ops: Lioness” (Paramount, 9:15 p.m.). Zoe Saldana stars in the…
Sunday TV: Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ Muses
It all may seem like pink fluff to you but director Greta Gerwig says her new “Barbie” is based on dozens of classic movies, and she lists them to Ben…
Remembering Tony Bennett, 1926-2023
Through his remarkable career that spanned eight decades, Tony Bennett, who died Friday at 96, not only set the mark for delivering pop standards with pop and verve, he encouraged…