Apple TV Plus starts to break down The Problem With Jon Stewart
Plus, a new episode of What They Do in the Shadows and the premiere of HBO Max's The Way Down
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Thursday, September 30. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
The Problem With Jon Stewart (Apple TV+, 12:01 a.m., series premiere): No one is ever really gone as long as streaming services are around: Jon Stewart returns as the latest new voice on Apple TV+. By putting his name in the title, the former Daily Show host follows in the footsteps of his former co-workers Wyatt Cenac (who hosted the excellent Problem Areas for two years) and Samantha Bee, who just got the green light for a seventh season of Full Frontal. Will Stewart get mad and rant as usual, or is it possible he’s mellowed out since leaving TDS in 2015? Stephen Robinson will recap the premiere and find out.
Regular coverage
What We Do In The Shadows (FX, 10 p.m.)
Wild cards
The Way Down (HBO Max, 3:01 a.m.): American cultlike organizations have many forms: MLMs, like LulaRoe; fundamentalist conservative groups like the ones that inspired Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Midnight Mass, and Wild Wild Country; and consumption-related ones like Weight Watchers and time-shares. But it’s a special type of cult that combines several of those at once, which Gwen Shamblin did by merging her self-help weight loss book The Weigh Down with evangelical Christianity shot through with good old American puritanism. (Oh, you Puritans! Why couldn’t you have stopped your culture contributions at witch hunts and Thanksgiving?) You should at least watch the trailer to see how big Gwen’s hair gets over the years, and check out our season review later today.
Ten Year Old Tom (HBO Max, 3:01 a.m.): Are 10-year-old boys gross? This deadpan animated show decidedly not for 10-year-olds plans to answer the question as thoroughly as possible. The show comes from adult animation veteran Steve Dildarian, who made the show The Life And Times Of Tim way back in 2008, which also starred Jennifer Coolidge. Alongside Coolidge, the cast of Ten Year Old Tom includes Gillian Jacobs, Mitra Johouri, Paul Rust, and John Malkovich.