FRIDAY
NOVEMBER 9
2018

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: Another season gets added today to Netflix’s pantry of British Baking Show programs – a newer season, and thus not one of the classic and generally more beloved ones, but it arrives nonetheless. And this week, Netflix also added the show’s “origin” episodes, the very first season, called The Beginnings. So either way, new or old, if you’re fond of fondants, here you go again…

 
  
 
 

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

This special on Great Performances is the U.S. premiere of a British IVT production that originally aired live there in 2015. That’s two years after NBC presented its own live telecast in 2013, starring Carrie Underwood, Stephen Moyer and Laura Benanti. In this U.K. version, Maria is played by Kara Tointon, and the Trapp family patriarch by Julian Oventon. Check local listings.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

Tonight’s scheduled roundtable guests are political strategist Cornell Belcher, BBC news anchor Katty Kay, and columnist Bret Stephens. And wait, that’s not all, not by any means: the midshow guest is Sarah Silverman, and Maher’s opening guest is author Bob Woodward (pictured).

 
  
 
 

HBO, 11:30 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: Series creators Mark and Jay Duplass are back with another season of this wide-ranging anthology series, whose common thread is a particular room in a particular, somewhat seedy motel. Except for flashbacks, everything takes place in that titular Room 104, and each time an episode (or the door) opens, you never know quite what you’re about to witness. Which is a large part of the fun here. Two new episodes are shown each Friday by HBO, starting tonight.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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Dave Bianculli
Hey sweetie,

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Good luck!!!!!!!!!!

Dave
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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.