5 things you have to watch on TV this weekend
A League Of Their Own hits Prime Video, a beloved coming-of-age comedy returns, and more
Welcome to the weekend edition of What’s On. Here are the big things happening on TV from Friday, August 12 to Sunday, August 14. All times are Eastern. [Note: The weekly What’s On will publish on Sundays.]
1. Abbi Jacobson revives A League Of Their Own
Prime Video, Friday, 12:01 a.m.: The whole first season of A League Of Their Own drops on August 12. Co-created by Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson and Will Graham, this sports dramedy is an adaptation of the popular 1992 movie of the same name, focusing on the formation of the all-girls baseball league team the Rockford Peaches in 1943. The ensemble includes D’Arcy Carden, Chanté Adams, Roberta Colindrez, Nick Offerman, Kate Berlant, and Molly Ephraim. Here’s an excerpt from The A.V. Club’s review:
With its compelling character arcs, natural comedic chemistry, and attention to period details and social issues, A League Of Their Own seems to be the heir apparent to Netflix’s GLOW, another female-centric sports dramedy.
2. It’s time for another round of Never Have I Ever
Friday, Netflix, 3:01 a.m.: Get your Team Paxton vs. Team Ben merchandise out because Never Have I Ever returns for its 10-episode third season. Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s coming-of-age comedy follows Indian American Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), a nerdy teen who’s on the quest for high school popularity while also mourning her dad’s death. Here’s a snippet from The A.V. Club’s season three review:
NHIE finely balances the dual act of being riotous and emotionally resonant without being saccharine or over-the-top ridiculous, a real testament to both the writers’ room and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, who tethers the show with a stellar leading performance.
3. Five Days At Memorial revisits the horrors of Hurricane Katrina
Friday, Apple TV+, 3:01 a.m.: Based on Sherri Fink’s 2013 book, Five Days At Memorial tells the harrowing true story of how staffers at a New Orleans hospital deal with Hurricane Katrina after the power went out. The ensemble includes Vera Farmiga, Cherry Jones, Cornelius Smith Jr., Julie Ann Emery, and Adepero Oduye. Here’s an excerpt of The A.V. Club’s review:
“This eight-episode series is a gripping affair, an engrossing medical thriller that doubles as a powerful indictment of government and corporate inaction and outright neglect.”
4. Hulu drops new comedy This Fool
Friday, Hulu, 12:01 a.m.: Co-created by Chris Estrada, this half-hour comedy centers on 30-year-old Julio Lopez, who is still living at home and loves to avoid dealing with his problems. He works at the Hugs Not Thugs rehabilitation non-profit, where he butts heads with his older cousin Luis (Frankie Quiñones), an ex-gang member who just got out of prison. Michael Imperioli and Michelle Ortiz also star. Here’s a bit from The A.V. Club’s review:
With the delightful reliance on old-school soul (Brenton Wood, Bill Withers) and palm trees and Dodgers decorum and shit-shooting around the dining room table with elderly relatives, a lived-in flow emerges, and the show lands on a rhythm somewhere between a bilingual Modern Family and a less lesson-y Gentefied.
5. For All Mankind goes out with a bang
Friday, Apple TV+, 12:01 a.m.: If you’re watching or know anything about For All Mankind, you can guess that disaster probably awaits in the season-three finale. (It’s titled “Stranger In A Strange Land,” which might refer to the North Korean astronaut who showed up on Mars in last week’s installment.) Look out for The A.V. Club’s recap of the hour, as well as a deep-dive interview about it with showrunners Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert.