Oh, you’d better believe Ricky Gervais is gonna tell you what’s wrong with the media
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30. All times are Eastern.
Top picks
Special Correspondents (Netflix, 3:01 a.m., Friday): Ricky Gervais writes, directs, and co-stars in this satirical comedy making its premiere on Netflix after debuting at the Tribeca Film Festival last week. In the remake of the French comedy Envoyés Très Spéciaux, Gervais and Eric Bana star as a pair of perhaps not especially ethical journalists who decide to fake their own kidnapping and file their stories on a South American rebellion from an apartment above a Spanish restaurant in New York City. (Judge them if you must, but think about paella for a second.) Joining Gervais and Bana are the impressive likes of Vera Farmiga, America Ferrera, Benjamin Bratt, Kevin Pollak, Kelly Macdonald, and Raúl Castillo, all of whom will help make Gervais’ humorous lesson about media ethics palatable. You know, like paella! Our own intrepid movie reporter (or reviewer, technically), Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, suggests the whole enterprise is a little undercooked.
Team Foxcatcher (Netflix, 3:01 a.m., Friday): Remember Foxcatcher? The movie where Steve Carell and his strange nose kill that wrestler? Well, here’s Netflix’s documentary about the real-life crime that inspired it (the movie and the nose).
Danger Mouse (Netflix, 3:01 a.m., Friday): Do you remember Danger Mouse? No? Well, this British cartoon spy spoof has gotten the reboot treatment and, in his pre-air review, Kevin Johnson says it goes quite well, actually.
The Drew (Showtime, 8 p.m., Friday): On a slightly more uplifting sports documentary tip, here’s the story of a legendary pro-am hoops league in South Central Los Angeles that’s spawned NBA-ers like Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Jennings, and Baron Davis, and even inspired some of L.A.’s rival gang members to work the pick-and-roll together.
W. Kamau Bell: Semi-Prominent Negro (Showtime, 10 p.m., Friday): What with the debut of his new CNN show United Shades Of America and this, his first ever stand-up special, the former Totally Biased comic is having himself quite a week. Especially considering what glowing things reviewer Dennis Perkins had to say about this.
Jazz At The White House (ABC, 8 p.m., Saturday): The Obamas invite some friends over to celebrate that crazy jazz. Friends like Aretha Franklin, Al Jarreau, Sting, and Herbie Hancock, who, wait—what was that third name again?
2016 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony (HBO, 8 p.m., Saturday): Do you like the rock ’n’ roll? How about old people? Well, then watch this year’s crop of inductees to the deeply necessary corporate monument to musical rebellion as it honors the likes of N.W.A., Cheap Trick, Deep Purple, Chicago, and the Steve Miller Band, secure in the knowledge that at least one of them is swearing under his breath in old guy contempt the entire time. (And, if you missed it, check out our exclusive recap of the night from attendee and very funny fellow Jimmy Pardo.)
Chris Hardwick: Funcomfortable (Comedy Central, 10 p.m., Saturday): “America’s zombie therapist,” as Chris Hardwick calls himself, brings his love of amiably nerdy dick jokes to this new stand-up special. Plus, Comedy Central’s turned over the weekend’s programming to Hardwick, which means there’s some good stuff like The World’s End, Galaxy Quest, Ghostbusters, Zombieland, Kumail Nanjiani’s stand-up special Beta Male, Hardwick’s previous special Mandroid, plenty of Key & Peele, and Futurama, half-hour stand-ups from Rory Scovel, Beth Stelling, Maronzio Vance, and David O’Doherty, and a surprising amount of Daniel Tosh. And, in case you were wondering, the Talking Dead, Talking Saul, and @Midnight host totally spills the beans about who Negan killed with that baseball bat. (Fine, he doesn’t. Or does he? He doesn’t. Unless he does.) Dennis Perkins knows the truth, but he’s not telling.
Premieres and finales
Hell’s Kitchen (Fox, 9 p.m., Friday): In the season 15 finale of this reality cooking/yelling competition series, the bedraggled cooks endure one final round of abuse from head chef and yeller Gordon Ramsay. Can anyone produce a dish so delicious that it cannot be screamed at? And, if so, will the winner then just up and smash said entrée right into their tormenter’s red, spittle-spewing kisser?
Regular coverage
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
The Vampire Diaries (CW, 8 p.m., Friday)
Grimm (NBC, 9 p.m., Friday)
Banshee (Cinemax, 10 p.m., Friday)
Outlander (Starz, 9 p.m., Saturday)
Streaming pick
Blackadder, “Duel And Duality” (iTunes and Amazon Video): In honor of the end of another season of Gordon Ramsay’s incessant abuse of people who just want to make him a damned sandwich (and Molly Eichel’s great recent writeup of the Blackadder finale), here’s to Stephen Fry’s guest shot as the similarly blusterous Duke of Wellington. Asked by Rowan Atkinson’s ever-capable butler if maybe, crazily, his underlings might respond better to something other than full-throated, arse-kicking bullying, the war-happy Duke reminds us all, “There’s only one way to win a campaign: Shout, shout, and shout again!”