From the premiere of new sitcom Poppa’s House to a Bruce Springsteen concert documentary, we round up our top 10 shows to watch this week
1. 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – Saturday, October 19, Disney+
For the second consecutive year, Disney+ offers live coverage of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, taking place at the organization’s headquarters in Cleveland. The 2024 inductees are: R&B sensation Mary J. Blige; pop star extraordinaire Cher; jam-band legends Dave Matthews Band; British-American rockers Foreigner; funk icons Kool & The Gang; singer and guitarist Peter Frampton; veteran rocker Ozzy Osbourne (who was previously inducted with Black Sabbath back in 2006); and rap fusion pioneers A Tribe Called Quest.
In addition, Musical Excellence Awards will be presented to proto-punk Detroit rockers MC5, singer Dionne Warwick, Motown songwriter and producer Norman Whitfield, and the late Jimmy Buffett. British blues giants Alexis Korner and John Mayall will join legendary blues singer Big Mama Thornton in receiving the Musical Influence Award.
2. Poppa’s House – Monday, October 21, Global & CBS | Series Premiere
Father-son duo Damon Wayans (In Living Color) and Damon Wayans, Jr. (New Girl) share the screen again in this sitcom about a “happily divorced” talk radio host saddled with both an adult son who can’t move past his dreams of becoming a filmmaker, and a new co-host (Essence Atkins) who challenges him at every turn.
3. Hasan Minhaj: Off with His Head – Tuesday, October 22, Netflix
He’s one of the most successful comedians of the past decade, having first turned heads as a correspondent on The Daily Show before parlaying that into a gig hosting his very own talk show — Netflix’s Patriot Act. But in September of 2023, Indian-American comic Hasan Minhaj’s ascent hit some turbulence thanks to one fateful article in The New Yorker.
In a piece titled “Hasan Minhaj’s ‘Emotional Truths’, ” writer Clare Malone anchored her profile of the young comic with an exploration of the ways in which some of the material that appeared in his Netflix specials about being racially targeted in the wake of 9/11 had been embellished for comedic purposes. Those include claims of having to rush his daughter to the hospital after receiving an envelope filled with white powder resembling anthrax — even though, while he did receive this package, his daughter was never exposed. In the article, the funnyman said: “Every story in my style is built around a seed of truth. My Comedy Arnold Palmer is 70 per cent emotional truth — this happened — and then 30 per cent hyperbole, exaggeration, fiction.”
While later criticizing the article for unfairly depicting him as a “psycho,” Minhaj did say in a subsequent social media post that: “Going forward, will I be more thoughtful about sticking to the facts in my storytelling? Absolutely. I have no problem with honest, good-faith critique, because I am always trying to improve as a performer and as a person.”
The ordeal, of course, opened up a debate about truth vs. comedy and exactly what obligation standups have to avoid embellishment. It’s a debate that will, no doubt, be rekindled as Minhaj returns with a Netflix special that finds the always-incisive cut-up riffing on “midlife identity struggles, race relations, political divides” and, of course, the scandal.
4. Car Masters: Rust to Riches – Wednesday, October 23, Netflix | Season Premiere
Mark Towle, Shawn Pilot, Constance Nunes, Tony Quinones and Mike Pyle return for a sixth tune-up, as Gotham’s finest gearheads look to make their fortune by restoring classic automobiles that have been left on the scrap heap to their former glory.
5. Canary Black – Thursday, October 24, Prime Video
From Underworld to Van Helsing to Total Recall, Kate Beckinsale has shown a knack for action over her career. She returns to pound our pulses yet again in this flick about a CIA agent backed into a corner after terrorists kidnap her husband and blackmail her into stealing national secrets for their nefarious plot.
6. Star Trek: Lower Decks – Thursday, October 24, Paramount+ | Season Premiere
The misfit crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos bumble their way through one last foray into the unknown (and unhinged) corners of the universe. This fifth and final season of this cartoon Trek opens to find Mariner (voice of Tawny Newsome), Boimler (voice of Jack Quaid) et al. assigned the duty of filling in some “space potholes.” Bland as that may sound, said potholes are actually subspace rifts that are leading their fellow Starfleet vessels into all sorts of malarkey.
Still, the job itself would be fairly straightforward . . . if they didn’t also have to deal with “an Orion war, furious Klingons, diplomatic catastrophes, murder mysteries and scariest of all: their own career aspirations.” Not to worry, though. What our heroes lack in competence, they make up for in usually somehow figuring out how to avoid complete disaster.
7. The Pasta Queen – Thursday, October 24, Prime Video | Series Premiere
Those who have yet to become acquainted with The Pasta Queen (a.k.a. Nadia Caterina Munno) from her wildly popular social media cooking videos are certain to be charmed by her first-ever TV series, in which Munno takes viewers on a delicious journey throughout her native Italy. Our charismatic host then ventures into the kitchen, where she demonstrates how to make authentic Italian dishes using the essential ingredients from the various regions of the country that she visits.
8. Before – Friday, October 25, Apple TV+ | Series Premiere
He’s already got six Emmys to his name. Now, Hollywood icon Billy Crystal may just put himself in the running for a seventh. Yet in this 10-part limited series, the noted funnyman takes a turn for the dramatic — and the horrific.
Debuting on streamer Apple TV+ with two new episodes on Friday, Before casts the erstwhile City Slicker as Eli, a gifted child psychologist who has fallen into a personal and professional funk ever since the sudden death of his wife. It’s at this point of crisis that Eli meets Noah, a young boy who may prove to be either his salvation or his damnation.
Showing up unannounced at his front door one day, Noah is a kid suffering from chillingly vivid “hallucinations,” which have led to troubles at school and all-round chaos. Eli feels an unexplainable connection to Noah and resolves to put his years of experience and training to work helping the boy sort through whatever trauma has hurled his life off-track.
But as the unlikely duo spend more time together, the exact nature of the kid’s affliction seemingly takes a turn from the psychological to the supernatural. What’s more, this all coincides with Eli experiencing ghostly visions of his late wife. That, combined with Noah’s grim prognostications and obsessive drawings of a mysterious farmhouse, convince Eli that he and this boy are connected in a more profound way than he’d ever imagined, and the result of their “therapy” will change both their lives forever.
Playing Eli’s departed yet still ever-present wife Lynn is Who’s the Boss? alum Judith Light — another former comedy star who’s proven herself to be lightning in a bottle, no matter the genre. Meanwhile, Noah is played by Jacobi Jupe, younger brother of A Quiet Place’s Noah Jupe; apparently, telling poignant human stories explored through the lens of bone-chilling horror just runs in the family.
9. The Office Movers – Friday, October 25, Crave | Series Premiere
Jae and Trey Richards wrap season one of their autobiographical workplace comedy about two brothers toiling away in their dad’s office-furniture moving business till they can save up enough funds to lead the life they want.”
10. Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band – Friday, October 25, Disney+
In the annals of rock history, few groups have achieved as legendary a status as The E Street Band, the outfit that has backed Bruce Springsteen since he erupted onto the music scene in the mid-1970s.
Springsteen and his band are currently doing what they do best, entertaining fans throughout the world on a major tour, and the new documentary Road Diary takes viewers behind the scenes. “Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band offer the most in-depth look ever at the creation of their legendary live performances — sharing fly-on-the-wall footage of band rehearsals and special moments backstage — as well as hearing directly from Springsteen on the topic,” states the synopsis for this doc/concert film. “Fans get the chance to experience professionally shot footage from the 2023-2024 tour for the first time ever — while following the band through their one-of-a-kind preparation process, and onto performances for tens-of-thousands across continents.”
Viewers will also be privy to an up-close-and-personal look at the members of the band: vocalist (and Springsteen’s spouse) Patti Scialfa; guitarist (and Sopranos alum) Steven Van Zandt; guitarist Nils Lofgren; drummer (and Conan O’Brien’s former bandleader) “Mighty” Max Weinberg; saxophonist Jake Clemons (nephew of original sax player Clarence Clemons, a.k.a. “The Big Man,” who died in 2011); bass player Garry Tallent; and keyboardist Roy Bittan.
“Our new film Road Diary will take you on a journey, from behind the scenes to rehearsals, to shows that we performed all around the world this year,” Springsteen said in a special message to fans shared via social media. “You’ll get to experience a little bit of the fun and the magic that we get to experience every night.”