Katherine Langford is Cursed
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Friday, July 17, and Saturday, July 18. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Cursed (Netflix, 3:01 a.m., complete first season):
Legends are meant to be left to interpretation, used for lessons and applications to real-life situations. ‘What if’ is a common question that arises when exploring these legends, and that’s what Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler sought to analyze and bring to life with their Cursed novel. Re-imagining Arthurian legend to center on the female characters that had long been used as side characters and devices to further the plot is a heavy task for a book, but even more so for a TV adaptation. A novel does not have the constraints of time and length that a streaming series does to capture the viewer. This is where Cursed season one may have cast a spell with minimal effect: It’s occasionally enchanting, if often confused about what plot it’s following at any given time.”
[Click here to read the rest of Kayla Sutton’s pre-air review.]
Regular coverage
RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars (VH1, Friday, 8 p.m.)
Wild cards
We Are Freestyle Love Supreme (Hulu, Friday, 3:01 a.m., documentary special premiere): Andrew Fried began documenting the work of improv hip-hop group Freestyle Love Supreme in 2005, when they were just a bunch of talented people rapping together on street corners and sidewalks. Fifteen years later, one of the group’s founders, Lin-Manuel Miranda, has racked up a bunch of awards for a bunch of things, and many of his collaborators—including fellow Hamilton star Christopher Jackson and Hamilton’s director Thomas Kail—are doing pretty damn well also. Hulu’s doc chronicles the group’s journey from those early days to a triumphant reunion run on Broadway, which concluded in January. In short: If you like hip-hop, Hamilton, or both, this is well worth your time.
Great Performances At The Met: The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess (PBS, 9 p.m.): Like many arts organizations, The Met has responded to the current crisis by taking its offerings online with nightly streams. They’ve been quite popular (and free!) but we feel duty bound to remind you that Great Performances has been sharing Great Performances, including some from that august institution, on Fridays for many years. This one’s a stunner.