What’s on TV
IT CHAPTER TWO (2019) 8 p.m. on HBO; stream on HBO platforms. Stephen King fans welcomed the director Andy Muschietti’s film adaptation of the 1986 novel “It” in 2017. That led to led this sequel, which picks up 27 years after the events of the first movie. The seven friends of the Losers Club reunite in their picturesque town of Derry, Me. All have seemingly moved on from their traumas involving It — the supernatural killer that takes the form of Pennywise the clown (Bill Skarsgard) — except for Mike (Isaiah Mustafa), who has been obsessively researching ways to stop It for good. Flashbacks of the friends’ encounters with It resurface from years ago, and each of them have to confront demons that were long buried. Some critics praised the cast — which also includes Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, James McAvoy, Jay Ryan, James Ransone and Andy Bean — but said the scares are underwhelming.
THE CLARK SISTERS: FIRST LADIES OF GOSPEL (2020) 8 p.m. on Lifetime. This new biopic of the Clark Sisters follows the release of their first album in 11 years, aptly titled “The Return.” The Grammy-winning gospel group originated in Detroit in the early 1970s and has been credited for bringing gospel to the mainstream. “First Ladies” packs in a whole lot of story: It chronicles the sisters’ rise to fame and the troubles that came with it, starting with their early days, when they were led by their passionate yet demanding mother, the choir director Mattie Moss Clark (Aunjanue Ellis). Gospel fans will recognize hits like “You Brought the Sunshine” and “Is My Living in Vain.” And the movie boasts some star power: Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige and Missy Elliott are among the executive producers.
SAVED BY THE BARN 10 p.m. on Animal Planet. Sure, the title of this new series may be cringe-inducing. But the premise is heartwarming. The show follows Dan McKernan, a former tech employee who quit his six-figure job to convert his family’s farm in Michigan to a “sanctuary” for rescued barnyard animals that have suffered abuse and neglect. What better way to forget the current state of the world than to indulge in scenes of goats frolicking in the sun.
What’s Streaming
THE AMERICAN NURSE (2014) Stream on Kino Now; rent on Google Play, Vudu or YouTube. Nearly every night, New Yorkers have been coming together to clap for medical professionals on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak. This touching documentary by the filmmaker Carolyn Jones is a similar gesture, an ode to nurses who put their patients first on a daily basis. The movie follows five workers in different settings. Among them is a nurse who runs a prison hospice program and another who looks after wounded soldiers. Each of the stories will tug at your heartstrings. The film is available to stream for free on Kino Lorber’s streaming platform, Kino Now, until the end of May.
Source: Television - nytimes.com
