Betty and Love, Victor return for their sophomore seasons
Also this weekend: New episodes of Home Before Dark, Flack, and Lupin
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Friday, June 11 and Saturday, June 12. All times are Eastern.
Top picks
Betty (HBO, Friday, 11 p.m., season premiere): “In the first episode of season two, viewers are once again unceremoniously dropped into the middle of the city. We get gorgeous pre-war Brooklyn brownstones as the backdrop to a scene in which Indigo (Ajani Russell) is talking to her mom… but she’s wearing a mask under her chin. Because this time around it’s a very different New York. This time, when Camille (Rachelle Vinberg) grabs her ’board and the rest of the girls and tries to get some killer footage of their skills, she rides past George Floyd and BLM posters adhered to fences. And like Indigo, Camille and the rest of the crew are all wearing masks.” Read the rest of Shanicka Anderson’s pre-air review of season two of this HBO dramedy here.
Love, Victor (Hulu, Friday, 12:01 a.m.): In season two of this young adult drama, Victor (Michael Cimino) begins junior year at Creekwood High while his family deals with him coming out of the closet. As he and Benji (George Sear) develop their relationship this season, Victor will also experience some fallout with his basketball teammates, now that he’s an openly gay star athlete at school. Created by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, the series is set in the same world as 2018’s Love, Simon; the cast includes Ana Ortiz, Bebe Wood, Mason Gooding, James Martinez, and Rachel Hilson. We’ll have more on Love, Victor’s sophomore season in the coming weeks.
Regular coverage
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+, Friday, 3:01 a.m.)
Lisey’s Story (Apple TV+, Friday, 12:01 a.m.)
Movie night
Skater Girl (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): Directed by Manjari Makijany, this coming-of-age sports drama follows a young girl, Prerna (Rachel Sanchita Gupta), from the Indian village of Rajasthan who discovers her passion for skateboarding after being introduced to it by a thirtysomething British-Indian tourist. The cast includes legendary Indian film industry actor Waheeda Rehman as well as Shradhha Gaikwad, Amrit Maghera, Shafin Patel, and Jonathan Readwin.
Wish Dragon (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): “Even the youngest of viewers could probably recognize they’re watching Aladdin transported to 21st-century China. (The filmmakers have openly acknowledged they pulled from the same folktale as the Disney classic.) But while the story beats are familiar, the modern setting does a lot to inject some new energy into this age-old tale. Wish Dragon isn’t just Arabian Nights with cellphones. It’s a thoughtful if slightly underbaked commentary on hustle culture and social status in the modern era.” Here is Caroline Siede’s full review of the film, whose voice cast includes Jimmy Wong, John Cho, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Constance Wu, Will Yun Lee, Jimmy O. Yang, Aaron Yoo, Bobby Lee, and Ronnie Chieng.
Wild cards
Home Before Dark (Apple TV+, Friday, 12:01 a.m., season premiere): Dana Fox and Dara Resnik’s mystery drama, inspired by young investigative journalist Hilde Lysiak, returns for season two with opening episode “I Knew You’d Find Me.” Brooklynn Prince plays Hilde Lisko, a young girl who moves from Brooklyn to the small lakeside town of Erie Harbor. While there, her dogged pursuit of the truth leads her to unearth a cold case that everyone in town, including her own father, tried hard to bury. Look out for more coverage of Home Before Dark in the coming weeks.
Flack (Amazon Prime Video, Friday, 12:01 a.m.): The six-episode second season of this British dramedy will drop in its entirety. It stars Anna Paquin as Robyn, an American PR executive living in London who is a messier version of Scandal’s Olivia Pope. She has to clean up conflicts caused by her problematic clients while her personal life spins out of control. The cast includes Sophie Okonedu, Lydia Wilson, Genevieve Angelson, with appearances from Daniel Dae Kim, Bradley Whitford, and Sam Neill.
Lupin (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): The first season of this French drama raked in 70 million households viewing (according to Netflix’s own numbers, that is). In season two, which consists of five episodes, Omar Sy’s gentleman thief Assane Diop searches for his kidnapped son Raoul and works to enact his revenge against tycoon Hubert Pellegrini (Hervé Pierre).
Trese (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): This international anime series is based on the award-winning Filipino comic series by Budjette Tan and artist Kajo Baldisimo. It centers on detective Alexandra Trese (voiced by Shay Mitchell in the English dub and Liza Soberano in the Tagalog dub) and her investigations into crimes involving the supernatural, all while she contends with the heavy legacy bestowed upon her. The star-studded voice lineup includes Manny Jacinto, Nicole Scherzinger, Steve Blum, Darren Criss, and Lou Diamond Phillips.