FRIDAY

MARCH 31

2017

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET

DOCUMENTARY MINISERIES PREMIERE: This three-part documentary series – co-produced by Netflix and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Productions, directed by Laurent Bouzereau and based on the nonfiction book by Mark Harris – is an excellent, superbly researched examination of a crucial but little-known chapter in American cinema history. It’s the wartime film history of Hollywood directors John Ford, Frank Capra, John Huston, George Stevens, and William Wyler, all of whom went to war to film combat or recruiting films, or even produce cartoons for the troops, during WWII. Meryl Streep narrates, and each of the classic directors is explained, and saluted, by a modern counterpart: respectively, Paul Greengrass on Ford, Guillermo del Toro on Capra, Francis Ford Coppola on Huston, Lawrence Kasdan on Stevens, and Spielberg himself on Wyler. This new documentary, like the ones made by its subjects in wartime, is unflinching, and not afraid to note inconsistencies and moral quandaries – which, of course, makes it even more valuable, interesting, and honest. Film fans and history buffs will be equally thrilled by Five Came Back, which opens today in New York and Los Angeles, coinciding with this Netflix rollout.

THE DISCOVERY

Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET

MOVIE PREMIERE: Robert Redford, Rooney Mara, Jason Segel, and Jesse Plemons star in this challenging new film, which posits, and dramatizes, a thought-provoking hypothetical: What if proof were discovered of an actual afterlife? How would people respond? And, given that information, would they wait for their natural deaths to see for themselves? If you’re dying to know the answers to those questions, this is for you…

GRIMM

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

SERIES FINALE: For everyone, here’s some Grimm news – but for fans of this show, it’s some grim news, too. This is the final episode of this series. For a full appreciation, see Monique Nazareth's MNtv.

DISGRACED

Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET

This new documentary, presented just before another weekend of NCAA tournament basketball, hones in on a much less celebratory chapter in college basketball history. A Baylor University men’s basketball star, student Patrick Dennehy, was killed in 2003. Teammate Carlton Dotson eventually pled guilty – the only NCAA incident on record in which a student athlete was convicted of murdering a fellow player. Former head coach Dave Bliss, implicated at the time in a Baylor cover-up, is among those interviewed.

REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

What a week – but I think I’ve typed that for months now. Regardless, this week’s scheduled guests on Bill Maher’s lively public affairs talk and comedy show (these days, more talk than comedy) include political strategist Roger Stone, journalist Jose Antonia Vargas, and roundtable guests former senator Rick Santorum, national security expert Gen. Michael Hayden, and political activist Neera Tanden.

ROBERT KLEIN STILL CAN'T STOP HIS LEG

Starz!, 10:00 p.m. ET

DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE: Robert Klein owns a significant chunk of bragging rights in the history of premium TV: His 1975 standup comedy special for HBO was the network’s – and, thus, television’s – first unedited, full-length comedy concert. More than 40 years later, Klein gets a proper full-length salute: a documentary profile reflecting his long and influential career, which continues to this day. The title refers to the most famous, and very funny, bit from Klein’s early standup routine, which required him to provide his own harmonica accompaniment.

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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.

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BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET

Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

Starz!, 10:00 p.m. ET

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