This week is the midway mark of 2020. Arduous to imagine, as this yr has felt like one very lengthy day and three years in a single, on the identical time. Every thing is loopy, however at the least there’s nonetheless TV to look at (for now).
Our suggestions this week embody the annual BET Awards, that are taking a novel kind as a result of pandemic, the premiere of an HBO docuseries in regards to the late crime author Michelle McNamara and her journey to carry the Golden State Killer to justice, and a pair of exhibits — Netflix’s Warrior Nun and Amazon Prime’s Hanna — about teen ladies who kick main ass. Oh, and the long-awaited film model of the Broadway sensation Hamilton.
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2020 BET Awards
Sunday at 8/7c on BET and CBS
BET’s award present celebrating Black excellence in leisure turns 20 this yr, and the community is celebrating the milestone with a digital award present hosted by Insecure‘s Amanda Seales. Performers embody Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Lil Wayne, Megan Thee Stallion, Nas, and Public Enemy. Drake leads all nominees with six nominations, with rappers Megan Thee Stallion and Roddy Ricch following intently behind with 5 nominations every. It guarantees to be an important present that is knowledgeable by the Black Lives Matter motion, and will probably be very attention-grabbing to see how an awards present occurs by way of teleconference. The present can also be airing on a broadcast community for the primary time, now that CBS and BET are company siblings underneath the ViacomCBS banner.
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark
Restricted collection premiere Sunday at 10/9c on HBO
This six-part collection is predicated on the bestselling ebook of the identical title and explores author Michelle McNamara‘s investigation into the identification of the serial predator she referred to as the Golden State Killer, which led to the arrest of a suspect in 2018. Sadly, McNamara was not round to see the payoff of her work, as she died in 2016. This docuseries, directed by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Liz Garbus and executive-produced by McNamara’s widower Patton Oswalt, is a tribute to McNamara’s life and work in addition to a harrowing true-crime documentary.
Welcome to Chechnya
Tuesday at 10/9c on HBO
This highly effective documentary from director David France chronicles the scenario within the Russian republic of Chechnya, the place a brutal state-sanctioned marketing campaign of extrajudicial disappearances, torture, and homicide of homosexual women and men has been taking place since 2017. It embeds with LGBTQ activists working to help victims and assist get them out of Chechnya, and consists of heartbreaking tales of people who find themselves leaving their house nation to flee persecution. The documentary makes use of a novel, subtle method to guard the identities of escapees, whose faces and voices are digitally altered in a delicate however efficient method that enables the viewer to kind an emotional connection to them whereas preserving their precise faces hid. It is a troublesome watch, however an essential one, particularly throughout Satisfaction Month, because it exhibits the merciless stakes that LGBTQ individuals nonetheless face and their bravery within the face of them.
Unsolved Mysteries
Wednesday on Netflix
Unsolved Mysteries, the…I do not know if venerable is the appropriate phrase, however it’s definitely an establishment within the chilly case/paranormal occasion investigation/reenactment style, is again as a Netflix reboot. Within the decade the present’s been away, the principles of true crime TV have modified, and the brand new model has increased manufacturing worth and a better concentrate on character as strange individuals attempt to determine what this extraordinary occasion that occurred to them or their beloved one was. The reboot comes from the creators of the unique docuseries, Cosgrove/Meurer Productions, and 21 Laps Leisure, the producers of Stranger Things.
Warrior Nun
Thursday on Netflix
Netflix’s newest supernatural teen motion collection has a humorousness and a quasi-religious taste. It is about an strange orphan woman named Ava (Alba Baptista) who, after waking up in a morgue, discovers that she now possesses superpowers because the chosen Halo-Bearer for a secret sect of demon-hunting nuns referred to as The Order of the Cruciform Sword. Yeah child. It is primarily based on a cult favourite ’90s comedian ebook referred to as Warrior Nun Areala and simply is likely to be our new favourite present.
Hamilton
Friday on Disney+
In case you by no means acquired tickets to see Hamilton on Broadway with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs, and the remainder of the unique solid — and chances are high you did not, as a result of tickets price about as a lot as a yr of tuition at a state college — that is the following smartest thing. This movie model of the epochal musical in regards to the lifetime of founding father Alexander Hamilton was constructed from reside performances taped in June 2016, and was alleged to be launched in theaters, however that did not occur. As a substitute it is going straight to Disney+, which can price you only a few {dollars} a month. Chances are you’ll know the songs from listening to the soundtrack, however now you may have the visible accompaniment, minus two f-words which can be being edited out to maintain the musical from getting a R ranking.
Hanna
Season 2 premieres Friday on Amazon Prime Video
The primary season of Hanna wasn’t in any respect unhealthy, however it was too acquainted as a retread of the superior artsy motion movie of the identical title (which is now streaming on HBO/HBO Max). In Season 2 of the collection, Hanna finds itself with out the boundaries of the unique story and grows up as its personal factor, following younger Hanna as she infiltrates the key authorities group that skilled her to be a supersoldier to be able to rescue her good friend from its brainwashing. Esme Creed-Miles is superior as Hanna, and Mireille Enos has carried Hanna’s frenemy Marissa Wiegler to new heights as that character modifications quite a bit from the movie. In case you’re into younger girls snapping the femurs of armed males twice their dimension, Hanna‘s the place it is at. –Tim Surette
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