HBO airs a second season of the documentary on the Nxivm cult and Ryan Murphy’s show begins its 11th season, set in New York City.
Between network, cable and streaming, the modern television landscape is a vast one. Here are some of the shows, specials and movies coming to TV this week, Oct. 17-23. Details and times are subject to change.
Monday
THE VOW 9 p.m. on HBO. This docuseries, about Keith Raniere and his “sex cult” Nxivm, is beginning its second season. In 2020 Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison for sex trafficking and other crimes. The first installment of the series explored the stories of the members who joined the group. This set of episodes will more focus Raniere and his inner circle as his trial took place.
Tuesday
BEETLEJUICE (1988) 9 p.m. on Freeform. Tim Burton’s comedy staring Michael Keaton and Wynona Rider is essential viewing for spooky season. Keaton plays the title character who is hired by a recently deceased couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) to scare away the new (alive) residents of their house. The film was adapted into a Broadway musical of the same name, which will close in January after almost 700 performances.
Wednesday
YEAR ONE: POLITICAL ODYSSEY 9 p.m. on HBO. Spanning from inauguration day in 2021 to the State of the Union in 2022, this documentary outlines President Biden’s first year in office, including the fallout from the Jan. 6 attack, efforts to encourage vaccination against Covid-19, the withdrawal from Afghanistan and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to name just a few events. It also features interviews with the secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken; the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan; the secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin; and The New York Times’s very own David E. Sanger.
AMERICAN HORROR STORY 10 p.m. on FX. Though murders are down 3 percent in the U.S., mysterious deaths around New York City continue to arise in the 11th installment of Ryan Murphy’s anthology series. Zachary Quinto, Patti LuPone and Billie Lourd — all “A.H.S.” veterans — star. Murphy has recently received some backlash from families of the victims of Jeffrey Dahmer for his show “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” in which Evan Peters (another “A.H.S.” regular) portrays the serial killer.
DOCUMENTARY NOW! 10 p.m. on IFC. Each episode of this faux documentary series takes inspiration from an actual documentary, with the writers and actors making it outrageous and goofy. Created by “Saturday Night Live” alums Seth Meyers, Fred Armisen and Bill Hader, the show begins its fourth season with two episodes inspired by the 1982 documentary “Burden of Dreams” about the director Werner Herzog. In this version, written by John Mulaney, Cate Blanchett stars as an eccentric filmmaker and Nicholas Braun plays a moviegoer who mistakes an art-house cinema for a porno theater.
Thursday
JERSEY SHORE FAMILY VACATION 8 p.m. on MTV. It is hard to believe that in 2022 we are still fist pumping with our favorite group of party animals. The “Family Vacation” spinoff, which follows Snooki, her crew and their brood as they travel around the country, has been filming for longer than the original “Jersey Shore” series. The whole squad is gathering together for a reunion to wrap up the fifth season and bank more hours of delectable reality TV.
MIKA: LIVE AT THE PARIS PHILHARMONIC 10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). The Lebanese British pop singer Mika, known for songs like “Lollipop,” “Grace Kelly” and “Happy Endings/Over My Shoulder,” takes his talents to the Paris Philharmonic, where he performs with the orchestra and a choir.
Friday
THE AWFUL TRUTH (1937) 8 p.m. on TCM. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne play the divorcing couple Jerry and Lucy who mess with each other’s new potential love lives when they realize they’re still in love with each other. The movie is based on a 1922 play of the same name.
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK (2012) 10:49 p.m. on Starz. This film by David O. Russell, filled with laughter, tears and lots of mentions of Philadelphia Eagles, stars Bradley Cooper as Pat, who, after ending up in a mental institution, moved back in with his parents. Jennifer Lawrence plays Tiffany, a young widow who promises to help Pat get back his estranged wife if he enters into a dance competition with her. Russell’s “movies embrace different problems and character types,” Manohla Dargis wrote in her review of the film for The Times. “A strung-out drug addict rather than an alcohol-soaked swell — but like the classics of the form, they have zippy, at times breakneck pacing, rapidly fired zingers and physical comedy that, taken together, reflect the wild unpredictability of the greater world.”
Saturday
CRISS ANGEL’S MAGIC WITH THE STARS 8 p.m. on The CW. Like “Dancing with the Stars” but with magic? Each week celebrity contestants learn tricks and illusions created by Criss Angel and then perform them in front of a panel of judges. This week Corbin Bleu and Miles Brown will be showing off their sleight of hand — next week Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Omarion are up. At the end, the celebrities with the highest scores will be invited back to compete for the golden wand.
Sunday
BMF: THE RISE AND FALL OF A HIP-HOP DRUG EMPIRE 10:05 p.m. on Starz. This eight-part series examines the true story of Black Mafia Family’s drug trafficking and money laundering operation based in Detroit. It is set to feature interviews with Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory as well and other ring leaders. This documentary series is a companion to the network’s scripted series “Black Mafia Family,” returning this fall for a second season.
Source: Television - nytimes.com
