Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, March 14th, 2024.
A DOCUMENTARY SERIES WORTH WATCHING
The documentary series Justice USA premiered today on Max and it is not at all what you might expect from the name. The season was filmed in Nashville over the course of seven months in 2022 and rather than being some knock-off of a cop friendly show you'll find on A&E or Investigation Discovery, this series focuses on the justice system as a whole - especially as it relates to juveniles, poverty, addiction and mental illness. It shows people on every side of the issue struggling to make the best decisions in the middle of a chaotic and sometimes unjust process.
I really wanted to talk with showrunner Randy Farrell and executive producer Marshall Goldberg about the series, but because of my crazy schedule this week, I wasn't able to connect with them until late this morning. But the conversation was incredibly enlightening and I'll post the entire conversation on AllYourScreens in the morning.
In the meantime, here is a quick excerpt:
Q: You are able to bring the audience in very closely to the lives of the people you were following on-camera. It feels as if there would have to be a lot of trust involved and that you would inevitably develop a close connection with some of these subjects. What kind of impact did experiencing that level of intimacy have on you once filming was done?
Marshall Goldberg: Some people wonder how I could put up with this for seven months: drug addicts, mentally ill people. People who were arrested for murder. We have a lot of people in there who were arrested for first-degree murder. But I think it was the most profound experience of my life - outside of becoming a parent.
And it's because it forces you to be honest and open and face another human being. If we weren't open and trusting with them, we weren't going to have a film. We were asking them to be honest with us. So we have to be honest back. And when you connect to someone on that level, to the point that they're really willing to open up, it is so regenerative as a human being. It is profound to really connect with someone on that level.
So I came away from Nashville not exhausted but in a way exhilarated by that contact with humanity.
Randy Farrell: And building on what Marshall said, for me personally, when people ask me "Oh, what did you learn about the system," I didn't learn anything personally. I didn't learn about the system. I learned about people.
And it's really true. We met these people, we introduced ourselves as humans before we introduced ourselves as filmmakers. We gave them an ear when nobody else probably would. So you start to see things. You start to care for people. And I think that shows in the film and I think it makes the audience care for these people. That's the core of any story. It's the people whose stories you're telling.
Justice USA is available now on Max.
WHAT CLASSIC TV FANS SHOULD BE WATCHING THIS WEEKEND
One side effect of the rebranding of the diginet Decades to Catchy Comedy last year is that the network's weekend marathons changed from a lot of obscure, little-seen TV shows to over-exposed reruns such as Sanford & Son or All In The Family. But this weekend's two-day marathon is one worth watching, because it includes three shows that are exceptionally difficult to find.
Tops on the list is When Things Were Rotten, the 1975 Mel Brooks spoof of Robin Hood that starred a murder's row of 1970s-era TV character actors. Dick Gautier as Robin Hood, Dick Van Patten as Friar Tuck, Bernie Koppell as Alan-O-Dale, Misty Rowe as Maid Marian, Ron Rifkin as Prince John...it just goes on and on. Narration by Steve Landesberg and every episode includes at least one cool guest appearance, from Sid Caesar to Ron Glass.
You'll also see episodes of Sledgehammer!, the 1986 spoof of tough cop movies such as "Dirty Harry." It starred David Rasche as Sledge Hammer and was created by Alan Spencer, who was the co-creator (along with Mel Brooks) on another short-lived comedy The Nutt House, which starred Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman. And an entirely tangential piece of trivia that is fairly mind-blowing. Spencer also wrote the Fox pilot The Ghost Writer, which featured Anthony Perkins as a Stephen King style author trying to manage a blended family. Apparently, it was intended to be a satire of Perkin's iconic role in Psycho.
The third comedy of the weekend binge is Naked Gun!, which has the rare achievement of being a very unsuccessful TV series which nonetheless spun off a couple of very successful movies. The series only ran on ABC for six episodes, although the final two ended up being burned off months after the show had been pulled from the network's schedule. One of the gimmicks of the series was that each week's "guest star" was killed off in the episode's opening credits. Victims included, Dick Clark, Dr. Joyce Brothers and L.A. Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda.
None of the shows are airing all of their episodes, I'm assuming due to music or some other rights issue. But it's a reminder that there is a lot of classic TV out there that no one is bothering to get cleared for licensing.
I understand the business argument against streaming obscure classic TV. I think you're wrong, but I understand it. But I sure wish some big streamer with a library would do it. And, just as a reminder, I am more than willing to help program this endeavor.
THIS IS TOTALLY NORMAL BEHAVIOR FOR A HOLLYWOOD TRADE OUTLET
ODDS AND SODS
* AMC has picked up streaming and linear TV rights to the TNT series Snowpiercer, including the unaired fourth season.
* Here's a rundown of the global TV and streaming video stories that should be on your radar today.
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
THURSDAY, MARCH 14TH:
* Apples Never Fall (Peacock)
* Art Of Love (Netflix)
* Barbie And Stacie To The Rescue (Netflix)
* Children Ruin Everything Season Three Finale (The CW)
* Comic View (BET+)
* Far North Season One Finale (AMC+)
* From Dreams To Tragedy: The Fire That Shook Brazilian Football (Netflix)
* Fire Dance Series Premiere (ChaiFlicks)
* GIRLS5EVA Season Three Premiere (Netflix)
* Grey's Anatomy Season Twenty Premiere (ABC)
* Invincible Season Two, Part Two Premiere (Prime Video)
* Justice USA Series Premiere (Max)
* Killing All My Sisters (LMN)
* Married To Real Estate Season Three Fnale (HGTV)
* 911 Season Seven Premiere (ABC)
* Red Ollero: Mabuhay Is A Lie (Netflix)
* Station 19 Season Premiere (ABC)
* Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Disney+)
* The Girls On The Bus Series Premiere (Max)
* True Crime Story: Smugshot (Sundance)
FRIDAY, MARCH 15TH:
* America's Backyard Gold Series Premiere (Discovery)
* Ancient Aliens Season Twenty Finale (History)
* Chicken Nugget Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Dream Scenario (Max)
* Frida (Prime Video)
* Irish Wish (Netflix)
* Irish Reign Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Manhunt (Apple TV+)
* Masters Of The Air Series Finale (Apple TV+)
* Murder Mubarak (Netflix)
* The Bloody Hundredth (Apple TV+)
* The Dynasty: The New England Patriots Series Finale (Apple TV+)
* The Outreau Case: A French Nightmare (Netflix)
SEE YOU ON FRIDAY!