Punch your ballot for The Politician

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Friday, September 27, and Saturday, September 28. All times are Eastern.

Top picks

The Politician (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m., complete first season): Pretty weird week for this series to come out. But honestly, this show is so wild, it also seems kind of appropriate.

Here’s Shannon Miller on the first Netflix series from Ryan Murphy, created with his Glee co-creators Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan:

Before stepping into the gilded halls of Santa Barbara’s Saint Sebastian High School, it is important to understand that the student body is embroiled in a very lengthy, wildly involved class election. The stakes here extend beyond dreams of curating vending machine snacks or booking Drake for the next prom: One candidate is fighting for their ascent to political greatness, and his boundless ambition leads him to resort to confounding lengths to secure any sort of leg-up. Unfortunately for him, he finds himself surrounded by opponents in nearly every facet of his life who are no less ruthless or desperate. It’s an almost foolproof formula for an undoubtedly entertaining block of television, even if The Politician’s execution is oftentimes messy and unwieldy.

Eric Thurm’s recaps will run throughout the weekend.

Regular coverage

Transparent: Musicale Finale (Amazon, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): series finale
The Great British Baking Show (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.)
Saturday Night Live (NBC, Saturday, 11:29 p.m.): 45th season premiere

Wild card

Crazy Cakes (Cooking Channel, Friday, 11:00 p.m., third season finale): This episode of Crazy Cakes, in which crazy cakes are made, is called “Big Ben And Wearable Hat Cakes.” We predict cakes shaped like someone named Ben, who is large, and cakes that look like hats you absolutely cannot wear.

We kid, we kid, but in all seriousness, it’s been a hell of a week. Can we suggest a nice show that travels to bakeries around the country to watch them make really crazy cakes?