Big Mouth tackles pubescent shame, boobs
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Friday, October 5 and Saturday, October 6. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Big Mouth (Netflix, Friday): Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg’s (Family Guy) colorful reimagining of their own pubescent years is back, and going through some very natural changes. The raunchy adult cartoon about middle schoolers navigating pleasures and pains of puberty with the help of their Hormone Monsters and talking pubic hairs elicited rave reviews for its imaginative and empathetic approach to adolescence, as well as its cast stacked with comedic talent, including Maya Rudolph, Jenny Slate, Fred Armisen, Jordan Peele, and Jason Mantzoukas (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The League). Shame is the name of the game this season when a “new” girl (Gina Rodriguez) causes a stir, leading the girls to reassess their bodies and the boys to reassess the way they look at them. Enter the Shame Wizard (David Thewlis), the mortal enemy of the Hormone Monsters, a personification of the guilt and embarrassment felt by each of the tweens, and especially the hyper-hormonal Andrew (John Mulaney). Meanwhile, Nick (Nick Kroll) confronts his disgust with his own Hormone Monster, which manifests itself as an filthy, creepy old goblin with a voice not unlike that of Smeagol. Jessi (Jessi Klein) finds strength in the face of her parents’ impending divorce. Check put Erik Adams’ review to see just how Big Mouth has grown since season one.
Regular coverage
The Man In The High Castle (Amazon, Friday)
Saturday Night Live (NBC, Saturday, 11:30)
Wild card
Into The Dark: The Body (Hulu, Friday): While nothing is quite as scary as puberty, our wild card pick looks like a promisingly spooky start to the Halloween season. Today, Hulu—perhaps chasing the success of shows like American Horror Story and Black Mirror—launches a horror anthology series 0f 12 episodes that will air on a monthly basis, each drawing inspiration from a holiday in the month it’s released. Jason Blum, the award-winning producer behind Get Out, Sharp Objects, Paranormal Activity, and the Purge films, lends his horror and thriller-genre talents to this festive haunt. The show appropriately kicks off with a Halloween themed episode, “The Body,” in which a stylish, cynical hit-man is forced to drag his recent victim’s body around the streets of L.A. on Halloween night, impressing partygoers with his realistic murderer costume.