What's On Tonight (Friday): M-M-M-My Nimona...

  

Nimona

Netflix has a surprisingly good track record with animated films.  Last year alone they gave us Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, The Sea Beast, Wendell & Wild, My Father's Dragon and Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio.  All were well received by critics and nominated for various awards (including Best Animated Feature Oscar noms for Sea Beast and Pinocchio, the latter of which won).  Their latest, Nimona, appears to continue their streak (97% fresh as of June 29).  

Nimona was originally with Blue Sky Studios and was set to release in 2020.  Once Disney acquired Fox, they put the kibosh on that, possibly due to the film's LGBTQ themes, just in case you were feeling at all sympathetic towards the corporation and its battles with Ron DeSantis.  

TOP PICK

⭐🎥 Nimona (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 'A knight framed for a tragic crime teams with a scrappy, shape-shifting teen to prove his innocence. But what if she's the monster he's sworn to destroy?'

Elsewhere...

*Netflix also has a new Thai series with a great concept: what if there was a phone that could delete a person's entire existence?  The trailer has a very "The Box" or "Monkey's Paw" feel to it.  If you're in the mood for people doing terrible things with technology they don't completely understand, and you've already finished the most recent season of Black Mirror, this might be up your alley.

*Shudder has the streaming debut of the much-delayed Children of the Corn remake (it premiered in 2020).  Honestly, it didn't actually get any kind of actual distribution in theaters, so this is less a streaming premiere than just a premiere.  It's supposed to be a new adaptation with nothing to do with the original "classic" film (YMMV) or it's sequels, but it's currently got a 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so it certainly has that in common with the other films in this series.

*Hulu has the season two premiere of The Night Manager.  This is not a second season to the Hugh Laurie/Tom Hiddleston Night Manager from 2016, but rather to an Indian adaptation of the same source material.  Not sure how it compares but the trailer features a lot of sexy people doing sexy things and a lots of guns and explosions.  Give it a shot.  The first season was supposed to be good.

*I watched the first two episodes of Secret Invasion.  The first episode felt slow and cheap and ended on a moment that should have been tragic and just elicited a shrug.  The second episode was much better with some nice scenes for Fury and Talos, Fury and Rody and a very good scene for Olivia Coleman's character.  The writing was better, and the show felt more expansive.  That said, I'm still keeping my expectations in check.

*The second episode of Strange New Worlds was also much better than the first.  I love me a good Star Trek trial episode and this one ranked up there with the best of them.  The third episode was a "21st century time travel" episode, which automatically takes it down a grade for me (at least this one wasn't set in San Francisco).  It features a lot of Paul Wesley's Kirk, a character that requires approximately 75% more swagger than what Wesley is giving.  There were times in the episode I wasn't even sure he was playing Kirk.  It was a good showcase for Christina Chong's La'an Noonien-Singh though, but I just wish her performance had been in service to a better episode.

PREMIERES

Delete

🔔 Celebrity (Netflix, 3:01 AM) SEASON ONE. 'Fame. Money. Power. One young woman fights to become the next hottest celebrity in the glamorous yet scandalous world of influencers in Seoul.'

🔔 Delete (Netflix, 3:01 AM) SEASON ONE. 'A pair of lovers having an extramarital affair plot a new life together after discovering a phone that can erase other people from existence.'

🎥 Book Club: The Next Chapter (Peacock, 3:01 AM) STREAMING PREMIERE. 'Follows our four best friends as they take their book club to Italy for the fun girls trip they never had. When things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure.'

🎥 Children of the Corn (Shudder, 3:01 AM) 'Covers the events leading up to, and including, the massacre of the adults of a small town in Nebraska by their children, after the adults' irresponsibility ruins the crop and the children's future.'

🎥 Twisted House Sitter 2 (Tubi, 3:01 AM) 'After escaping jail with the help of her boyfriend, Alicia plots to take over a cosmetic empire.'

🎵 Essence Fest Primetime (Hulu, 7:00 PM) 'The livestream of the multi-night event will feature performances from all three of the festival’s evening concert headliners – Ms. Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliott, and Megan Thee Stallion – along with additional artists including Doug E. Fresh, Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris, Eve, Salt-N-Pepa, T.I. Ice Cube, Ice-T, Remy Ma, Trina, Gucci Mane, Big Boi, Lil Jon, Monica, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, and Jagged Edge.'

RETURNING SHOWS

🔔 Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (Amazon, 12:01 AM) SEASON FOUR PREMIERE.

🔔 The Night Manger (Hulu, 3:01 AM) SEASON TWO PREMIERE.

🍰 Is It Cake?  (Netflix, 3:01 AM) SEASON TWO.

💰 Outback Opal Hunters (Discovery Channel, 11:08 PM) SEASON NINE PREMIERE.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan

STREAMING

🔔 Deadloch (Amazon, 12:01 AM) 

🔔 The Crowded Room (Apple, 12:01 AM) "Rya" 

🔔 Silo (Apple, 12:01 AM) SEASON FINALE. "Outside" 

🔔 Swagger (Apple, 12:01 AM) "18" 

⚖ Tribunal Justice (Freevee, 12:01 AM) 

💖 Love Island (UK) (Hulu, 3:01 AM) 

🔔 Who's Talking to Chris Wallace (Max, 3:01 AM) 

💖 Love Allways (Paramount, 3:01 AM) 

🔔 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (Paramount, 3:01 AM) 

🔔 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Untucked (Paramount, 3:01 AM) 

👮‍♂️ Cops (Fox Nation, 6:00 PM) 

LIVE SPORTSBALL TODAY/TONIGHT

🏌️‍♂️ PGA Tour Golf: Rocket Mortgage Classic, Second Round (Golf, 3:00 PM)

🥍 Boys High School Lacrosse: GEICO National Showcase: Teams TBA (ESPNU, 5:00 PM)

🏌️‍♂️ 2023 US Senior Open Championship: Second Round (Golf, 6:00 PM)

🥍 Boys High School Lacrosse: GEICO National Showcase: Teams TBA (ESPNU, 6:30 PM)

⚾ Friday Night Baseball: Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates (Apple, 7:00 PM)

🌽 Cornhole: ACL Final Chase (CBSSN, 8:00 PM) 

🏀 WNBA Basketball: Los Angeles Sparks at Chicago Sky (Ion, 8:00 PM)

⚾ High School Baseball: GEICO National Championship: Teams TBA (ESPNU, 9:00 PM)

⚾ Friday Night Baseball: Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Angels (Apple, 9:30 PM)

Is It Cake?

MIDNIGHT

🦄 Unicorn: Warriors Eternal (Adult Swim, 12:00 AM) SEASON FINALE. 'Emma tries to find her way back to Unicorn as they struggle to hold out against their foe.'

EARLY PRIMETIME

🔔 You Are Here (AMC, 7:00 PM) "New York City" / "Chicago"

🕗 8:00 EASTERN / 🕖 7:00 CENTRAL

🔔 Outlander (Starz, 8:01 PM) 'Jamie discovers Arch Bug has kept a dangerous secret; in the 20th century, Roger and Brianna find a link to Jamie and Claire.' 

🤼‍♂️ WWE's Friday Night Smackdown (Fox, 8:00 PM) 
🔔 Villains of Valley View (Disney Channel, 8:00 PM) 
🔔 Ridiculousness (MTV, 8:00 PM) 
👻 Pretty Freekin Scary (Disney Channel, 8:30 PM) 

🕗 9:00 EASTERN / 🕖 8:00 CENTRAL

🍴 Diners, Drive-ins & Dives (Food, 9:00 PM) 'Guy Fieri is gearing up for vacation mode with Italian and island-inspired eats; in California, Guys gets carbonara and Kalua pig from the same Manhattan Beach spot and Lao Lao in Los Angeles; a Jamaican joint in Cincinnati serves a stew wrap to go.' 

👽 Ancient Aliens (History, 9:00 PM) 'Counting down the world's top 10 pyramid sites, from a valley in Peru with over 250 hidden pyramids to an ancient Greek city with mysterious 4,800-year-old ruins to Egypt's famous Giza Plateau.' 

🔔 Run the World (Starz, 9:00 PM) 'Hope surprises the ladies by announcing that she's getting married in two days to an artist she met in Tulum; Whitney questions her best friend's spontaneous decision, while Renee is reminded of her past love for Jason.'

💀 Dateline NBC (NBC, 8:00 PM) 
💰 Hoffman Family Gold (Discovery Channel, 9:00 PM) 
👻 Pretty Freekin Scary (Disney Channel, 9:00 PM) 
🏠 100 Day Dream Home (HGTV, 9:00 PM) 
🔔 Ridiculousness (MTV, 9:00 PM) 
💀 The Real Murders of Orange County (Oxygen, 9:00 PM) 
🎥 Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs (Shudder, 9:00 PM) 
🤮 Mama June: From Not to Hot (WE, 9:00 PM) 

Children of the Corn

🕗 10:00 EASTERN / 🕖 9:00 CENTRAL

🔔 The Articulate Hour (PBS, 10:00 PM) SEASON FINALE. 'Artists and experts illustrate how time may be more flexible than people thought.' 

🤼‍♂️ All Elite Wrestling: Rampage (TNT, 10:00 PM) 
💰 Gold Rush: Freddy Dodge's Mine Rescue (Discovery, 10:01 PM) 
👽 The Proof is Out There (History, 10:03 PM) 

LATE NIGHT

🎨 Painting with John (HBO, 11:00 PM) 'John gathers a group of remarkable musicians to write, rehearse, and record music for this season of the show.' 

🔔 The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (NBC, 11:34 PM) 'Actress Cameron Diaz; actor Matt Smith; Sheryl Crow performs.'

🔔 Late Night with Seth Myers (NBC, 12:37 PM) 'Actor Johnny Knoxville; actor Jake Lacy; Pusha T performs; Elena Bonomo sits in with the 8G Band.'

💰 Outback Opal Hunters (Discovery Channel, 11:08 PM) 
🔔 Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC, 11:35 PM) 
🔔 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS, 11:35 PM) 
🔔 Nightline (ABC, 12:37 AM) 
🔔 The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS, 12:37 AM) 

📺Broadcast/Cable/Satellite - RETRO BINGE📺

The Andy Griffith Show (Sundance, 6:02 AM - 12:00 PM); Law & Order (Pop, 6:00 AM - 8:00 PM); M*A*S*H* (TVLand, 7:00 AM - 11:00 AM); Roseanne (CMT, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM); Parks and Recreation (Comedy Central, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM); Living Single (TVOne, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM); Hawaii Five-0 (Ion, 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM); Gunsmoke (TVLand, 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM); Law & Order (Sundance, 1:01 PM - 1:00 AM); Seinfeld (Comedy Central, 2:00 - 5:30 PM); Family Ties (Antenna, 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM); The Office (Comedy Central, 5:30 PM - 11:00 PM); One Day at a Time (Antenna, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM); Three's Company (Antenna, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM); The Jeffersons (Antenna, 8:00 PM -9:00 PM); Everybody Loves Raymond (TV Land, 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM); Barney Miller (Antennae, 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM); King of Queens (TV Land, 11:05 PM - 2:00 AM); Designing Women (Antenna, 11:30 PM); Becker (Antenna, 12:00 AM - 1:00 AM); Wings (Antennae, 1:00 AM - 2:00 AM); Alice (Antenna, 2:00 AM - 3:00 AM); Benson (Antenna, 3:00 AM - 4:00 AM); Mom (TV Land,3:10 AM - 4:50 AM)

📺 Johnny Carson (Antenna, 10:00 PM) 'Actors Bess Armstrong; Merie Earle; Tony Curtis; Steve Landesberg.'

Book Club: The Next Chapter

Key Sources: The Futon Critic; Zap2it; Netflix; Wikipedia; Horrornews.net; Sysfy.com; hollywoodreporter.com

⭐: Top Pick
💲: Game show
🎥: Movie
📺: Throwback
✔️: Video/gif/photo included