A crazy zoo, women in charge, and killer trees highlight a fascinating fall television lineup. Check out these don’t-miss shows:
“Gibbon King: Gettin’ Wild” eight episodes, Netflix
Follow the adventures of “Wild” Willard Knutsen, the self-labelled “Gibbon King”, as he and a cast of crazy characters start a zoo for primates in Hays, Kan. See Knutsen and his sidekick Elroy “Chopper” Simmons – an eight-fingered former butcher – acquire primates, sometimes illegally, from various places across the globe including lemurs, bonobos, and chimaques (the offspring of a chimpanzee and a macaque). The zoo is threatened both by lawsuits from Anna Pumpenmiller, who also runs a primate zoo but is of milder comportment, except for the time she allegedly killed her yoga instructor, and Knutsen’s forays into the vege-sexual scene where he dates and later marries a house fern. Note: Netflix assures this is a real story and not a shot-for-shot remake of any other zoo-related series available on its platform.
“The Manmaids Tale” six episodes, Hulu
A his-topia has swept across the Midwestern United States, which has succeeded from the union after a women’s uprising. President Ruth Bader Ginsberg (Tilda Swinton) presides over a 13-state nation where men are only allowed out of the house to take children to school and play football. Women hold all the power but leader of the Remasculators, Riggo Duggan (Channing Tatum in a curly blond wig), has a plan.
“Remember When…” 22 episodes, ABC
Three retirees sit about the solarium of their retirement village in Tucson, Az. and complain about how complicated television is. Nora (Ruth Buzzi) leads the group in hilarious observations: “Hulu? Like the hoop?” and “Is HBO Max the one on the phone or the computer?” Erik Estrada and Philip Michael Thomas round out a cast of characters who accidentally activate each other’s Amazon Echos.
“All Loves Matter” 13 episodes, Peacock
BLM activist Lonzo (Nick Cannon) falls in love with Tiffany, a neo-Nazi (an actor who asked that her real identity be withheld), after both are arrested at a protest in Los Angeles. Will their relationship survive meeting her parents (Jon Voight and Rosanne Barr) or when she learns of his pact with Louis Farrakhan (as himself in his television debut) to turn country clubs into white prisons?
Note: The show will premiere on NBC’s new streaming service, Peacock, with additional airings on CNBC, TruTV, and MSNBC when Rachel Maddow is on vacation.
“Floaters” 25 episodes, CW
Young people who can stay airborne for a really long time. That’s it.
“The Morbid Botanist” 6 episodes, Zwingle*
The trees in Spokane are dying, and so are its people. A series of grisly murders – a branch through the chest, an acorn-filled mouth, pine needles in the eyes – discovered by local police chief Al Hawkins (David Harbour) suggest that supernatural forces are at work. Dr. Eva Black (Aubrey Plaza), who lives in a remote cabin after being disbarred by the Washington State Forestry Guild for her extreme methods, might be behind it. Hawkins is also searching for his missing partner, Sgt. Hooper, who disappeared after someone, or something, wrote “No 1 leaves” in sap on his front door.
*Zwingle is a channel previously known as Slack, which was previously GorfTube, which was previously CBS.
Lecher Dome, 12 live episodes, ESPN
Middle-aged men, sitting behind a one-way mirror, watch busty cheerleaders clean guns, lube transmissions, and chop firewood. Note: This will only air if football is cancelled.
Grand Island School Board Meeting, every other Tuesday, GISD.k12.neb.gov/boardmeeting
Will the Grand Island (Neb.) School District close a $2.3 million budget deficit? Will Superintendent Emma Cross negotiate a settlement with the local teachers’ union? Will anyone ever know that board member Tony Jacobs is a Minotaur?