What To Watch: 11/04/2021

Is this the real life? Is this just Screen Scholars? If you’re feeling ’70s nostalgia, we have a tribute to one of its biggest bands. The ’80s? A reboot of one of its better standard sitcoms. For the ’90s, we’ve got a comedian who talks a lot about growing up in that decade. Here’s some stuff you can project on a screen.

FIONA’S PICK:
Head of the Class [HBO Max]
Based on the original 1980s sitcom, Isabella Gomez stars as a new teacher focused on helping her overachieving high schoolers loosen up. Isabella Gomez previously starred as Elena Alvarez in the remake of One Day at a Time. I am looking forward to seeing her make the jump from high schooler to high school teacher.

KATHERINE’S PICK:
The Queen Family Singalong [ABC, 8p]
Singalong to Queen at home and be joined by Adam Lambert, Derek Hough (wait, what, why), Fall Out Boy, Miss Piggy, JoJo Siwa, and your own dulcet-toned (we hope) family.

JASON’S PICK:
Aida Rodriguez: Fighting Words [HBO Max]
It’s been a minute since the eighth season of Last Comic Standing, but if you watched it, you’ll remember Aida Rodriguez as she’s both very assertive and extremely funny. The veteran comic has earned her hour special, and the preview clips are hilarious. 

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE

  • Catching Killers, as the plural in its title implies, profiles multiple cases of serial killers through the eyes of the detectives who hunt them down. The anthology is the latest entry in the Netflix true crime library.
  • Five thrill-seeking wealthy Asian friends design adventures for the gang in Dead & Beautiful; as this movie is on Shudder, something goes horrifically wrong and they wake up vampires. That’s the film!
  • Space tourists… we mean Space Titans: Musk, Bezos & Branson. Gross! Seriously, fuck them, but if you really want to know more about their rides in space in metal penises, check out Discovery+’s hagiography.
  • In season one of Frayed, a comedy from the school of Fleabag and Catastrophe (Catastrophe’s star and co-creator Sharon Horgan is an executive producer here), Sammy Cooper finds herself fleeing disaster in London to move to Australia. Its second season, debuting today, finds our hero(?) running back to the UK, suspected of the murder of her neighbor. We’re not sure what to make of it, but Aussie-born British stand-up Sarah Kendall is a delight. HBO Max carries it here in the states.
  • Even less promoted by HBO Max is Rap Battlefield which is an Argentinian TV show which appears to be a taut teen drama about, well, battle rappers.
  • More music melodrama comes from BET+’s Sacrifice, about a PR flack whose own life is an utter mess. If this sounds familiar, this one stars Paula Patton and takes place in the U.S.
  • By all accounts, 18-year-old Nebraskan child reality TV/dance star Jojo Siwa is somehow not a mess. Her new show on Peacock with her reality TV/dance trainer mom, Siwas Dance Pop Revolution, debuts today on Peacock.
  • Refreshingly, there’s not too much Christmas in this round-up. The only holiday title comes from a master chef and TV presenter. Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi: Holiday Edition drops on Hulu today.
  • We’re just going to quickly wrap this up as we often do with a stop to see what Lifetime has for us and it is a doozy with the not-at-all-exploitative title Secrets of an Escort. Somewhere, Cinemax After Dark is letting out a gentle sigh (at least we hope that’s what it is).

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