The Art of Binge Watching is back this week with some fantastic programming choices to get you through the weekend. My team and I remain dedicated to giving readers the best possible options for time spent in front of the television. The interns and I have compiled quite a list of shows for you to enjoy this Easter weekend, and there’s even a bonus where we preview a new show set to debut next week. Like we’ve said before here at TAOBW: Our time is valuable, so let’s start the show.
Cable
The Food that Built America (Sunday, 7 p.m., HISTORY): The station formerly known as The History Channel (since shortened to HISTORY) provides us with a food-filled Sunday night. “The Food that Built America” has two new episodes coming out that have piqued my interest.
The first is titled “The Beef is On.” This episode tells the story of Colonel Sanders selling his company to investors in 1964, and the new owners finding a new star within their organization: Dave Thomas (founder of Wendy’s). The second episode is called “Pop Stars.” This is the fascinating story of Orville Redenbacher and his lifelong dream of creating the perfect popcorn kernel. Grab yourself a Spicy Chicken sandwich (my Wendy’s preference) and some microwave popcorn (plenty of butter) while you enjoy these programs that explain why these two food giants had so much success.
Come Dance with Me (Friday, 7 p.m., CBS): Television’s latest foray into a show about dancing is upon us. “Come Dance with Me” caught my attention due to the unusual rules and the selection of the participants. What happens when teachers, doctors or even a writer is asked to learn endless choreography for their own child? CDWM — created by LL Cool J — is a family dance competition series where untrained parents partner up with their exceptionally talented children and strut their stuff for the cameras (and a bunch of money).
The Bible (Saturday, 9 a.m., HISTORY): This miniseries came out in 2013, and HISTORY is running every episode in marathon format starting Saturday morning. Warm up your DVR. This series runs about 10 hours, but each episode is worth your time. The arc covers Genesis to Revelation, with each episode containing a few different stories told through live action and computer-generated imagery. Easter weekend is a perfect time for you to hunt some eggs and watch this marathon.
Streaming
The Invisible Pilot (HBO): HBO’s newest three-part documentary tells the story of Gary Betzner, a daredevil crop-duster pilot in Arkansas. Betzner, a flying superstar who trained in the Navy’s Top Gun program, survived 11 plane crashes in his life. Yes, you read the previous sentence correctly, and if that doesn’t give you a reason to watch this, I’m not sure what will. After Gary unexpectedly and tragically dies, the real mystery begins. This story will give you your dose of twists and turns for the weekend. The mystery has theories based around drug smuggling, gun running and a possible illegal U.S. weapons deal.
The Righteous Gemstones (HBO): We’re back on the HBO train for this one. If you’ve never watched “The Righteous Gemstones,” you can thank me later. This extremely dark comedy is about a world-famous televangelist family and megachurch pastors with a history of greed, deviance and occasionally some charitable work. The series is based around the Gemstone family, led by widowed Patriarch Eli Gemstone (John Goodman) and his immature children (Danny McBride, Edi Patterson, and Adam Devine). Edi Patterson absolutely steals the show with her performance as Judy Gemstone. Prepare for lots of cringing and lots of laughing, as the first two seasons are currently streaming. One other thing: This show is definitely not for the children — or anyone offended by some crude language.
White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch (Netflix): I’m excited about this one, so excited that I must tell you the bad news. Netflix’s new documentary doesn’t hit our streaming devices until Tuesday. As someone who grew up in the Abercrombie & Fitch era and never really felt like their clothing was meant for me but still begged my parents to buy it, this one is a must watch. The documentary shows the effects the retail giant had on millennials around the world. If you were walking around a mall in the late 90s, you know all about this place, but do you know about Abercrombie’s discriminatory way of doing business, which is pretty much the antithesis of what we get from lifestyle brands today? Basically, Abercrombie was hiring people based on race and attractiveness amongst other things to bring in a certain kind of customer. Grab your seashell necklace, put on a bunch of cologne, and squeeze into your tight orange Abercrombie shirt to fully enjoy this one.
Sports
NBA Playoffs (Saturday, High Noon, ESPN/ABC): The first round of the NBA Playoffs begins on Saturday afternoon with four games. The Utah Jazz take on the Dallas Mavericks in a series that will be determined by the health of Dallas superstar Luka Doncic. Murray State alum Ja Morant leads the Memphis Grizzlies against former Kentucky Wildcat Karl-Anthony Towns and his Minnesota Timberwolves. The Toronto Raptors look to pull an upset against the Philadelphia 76ers and the league’s premier big man, Joel Embiid. The nightcap will be over on ABC, where the talented Denver Nuggets take on one of the NBA’s juggernauts, the Golden State Warriors, led by living legend Steph Curry.
USFL Football (Saturday, 7 p.m., FOX & NBC): I want to clarify that I’m not telling you to watch the newest version of professional football because I think it’s going to be good. The USFL makes their pitch to be the premier backup football league this weekend with the league’s first games. The USFL has a promising television deal, with weekend primetime games on FOX and NBC, so it seems like the networks believe the idea will work. If you’re a major football fan, you’ll recognize several names between the players and coaches. Let’s just tune in Saturday night and watch with caution.
NASCAR Cup Series: Food City Dirt Race (Sunday, 6 p.m., FOX:) Bristol Motor Speedway has been one of NASCAR’s most famous stops since 1961, but last year, the race took an entirely different form: dirt track racing. Joey Logano won last year’s contest and is looking to show the rest of the field it wasn’t a fluke. To make things even better, NASCAR is giving us dirt racing and night racing at the same time. NASCAR fans are excited for this one, and I don’t blame them.
UFC Fight Night: Muhammad vs Luque (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN): Dana White and the UFC are pumping out fight cards in 2022 like Craig Clark pumps out hot-fire takes over on “So Right, It’s Wrong.” The fight night is live from the UFC APEX arena in Las Vegas and has a big welterweight battle between Vicente Luque and Belal Muhammad. The two combatants battled before, with Luque winning, but that was several years ago, and Muhammad looks to wrestle his way into the title picture with an upset win. There are four other fights on the card (all free) as this show looks to be another winner provided by the UFC and ESPN.
Readers are encouraged to send suggestions for TAOBW and/or tell Jordan how you really feel about his what-to-watch picks via email at Jordanwillis5393@gmail.com.
