WEDNESDAY
JUNE 5
2019

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Hulu, 3:00 a.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: Season 3 of The Handmaid’s Tale begins tonight on Hulu – which, with this series, copies the long-established broadcast TV formula of presenting one new episode per week, rather than dropping an entire season at once. The season begins, though, with a triple-header, treating fans to the first three hours of the new crop of shows. And they begin precisely where last season’s cliffhanger left off: with Offred (Elisabeth Moss) smuggling Serena’s baby off to safety, but staying behind herself, in hopes of similarly rescuing her own child. What happens next includes Bradley Whitford (now elevated to series regular) as a rebellious patriarch, and Alexis Bledel as the handmaid trying to get the baby to safety – and both of their performances, like Moss’, are standout examples of the acting craft at its best. With all three, some of their best acting comes in silent closeup, when only their expressions tell you what they’re feeling and thinking. And boy, do they… For a full review, see David Hinckley’s All Along the Watchtower. 

 
  
 
 

Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: Season 5 of Black Mirror is only three episodes long – but that was true of Season 1, and look how well that turned out. All three of these new editions are impressive, one is astounding, and every one is better than anything CBS has yet served up with its Twilight Zone reboot. Black Mirror is the modern spiritual and creative descendent of Rod Serling’s classic anthology series, yet Black Mirror creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones have made this series their own. This season’s three stories are “Smithereens,” about a grieving man who blames social media for his personal tragedy; “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too,” starring Miley Cyrus as a pop star whose personality is replicated in an Alexa-type computer interface; and my favorite, “Striking Vipers,” about two old friends who reunite for, and in, a new virtual-reality version of their beloved vintage battle-action videogame (pictured). The special effects are mind-blowing – but so are the ideas explored by writer Brooker in this unforgettable episode. For my full review on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, listen to today’s show, or visit the Fresh Air website later today.

 
  
 
 

YouTube, 10:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: Coming on the stiletto heels of Netflix’s Bonding comes another series flirting with the slowly expanding “sexual desire” genre of TV pay-for-play players, which may have originated with Showtime’s Secret Diary of a Call Girl. This new entry, like Bonding, adopts the male point of view, and tells of a struggling writer named Nikhil (Vishaal Reddy) who decides to raise money by working as a male escort. And as with Fleabag, another obvious influence along with Secret Diary, this limited YouTube Channel series allows the protagonist to speak candidly, and directly, to the TV viewer watching the show.

 
  
 
 

FXX, 10:00 p.m. ET

Tonight’s episode of Archer: 1999 has Archer and his team used by aliens as entertainment: forced to compete in arenas, battling one another for survival, as in a vintage Star Trek episode.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.