What's On Tonight (Friday): Enchantments of Disenchantment are No Longer Yours to Dis...

           

Disenchantment

I was genuinely torn about what should get Top Pick today.  The contenders: the second season premiere of The Wheel of Time and the final season of Disenchantment.  Ultimately, I went with the latter because this is its final season, and since The Wheel of Time is only releasing one episode per week, I can always make it Top Pick later on.  So now you all have that to look forward to.

Disenchantment is an odd duck.  It's a fantasy comedy that doesn't always nail the balance between the two (the second season in particular had a tendency to forget the comedy part).  The show can be quite dark at times (the whole storyline of the king being buried alive, and his resulting PTSD, was not fun), but I always enjoy the central trio of Bean, Luci and Elfo.  I'm curious to see how the writers wrap up the various storylines.  I'll miss this show but I have new Futuramas over on Hulu for at least a couple more weeks, so I'll be fine.

TOP PICK

⭐🧙‍♀️Disenchantment (Netflix, 3:01 AM) FINAL SEASON. 'The misadventures of hard-hitting, hard-drinking Queen Bean, her feisty elf companion Elfo, and her personal demon Luci culminate in an epic battle for Dreamland. To save Dreamland from Queen Dagmar’s wicked rule, Bean must vanquish her mother and outrun a prophecy that foretells she will kill someone she loves. The stakes are as high as ever as our heroes face Satan, a headless corpse, an evil scientist and most terrifying of all- their true destiny.'✔️

Elsewhere...

*It still cracks me up that Amazon spent more money on Rings of Power than the total economic output of most countries only for the series to be met with a collective "meh."  Meanwhile, The Wheel of Time, not an inexpensive series by any stretch but the budget of which is a pittance compared to Rings of Power, snuck in and won people over almost immediately.  

*Another contender for Top Pick was the season finale of My Adventures with Superman, a wonderful series airing on Cartoon Network and Adult Swim and streaming on Max.  It's easily the best Superman we've gotten since the 90s animated series.  It manages to feel fresh and alive while remaining faithful (enough) to the comics.  It's also very funny and well animated.  Highly recommended.

*My older son recently joined the high school football team for a hot minute before realizing it wasn't for him.  I was okay with him quitting as I'm not into sports and was concerned for his safety.  I had only let him sign up because I thought it might be a good opportunity for him to step outside of his comfort zone and make new friends, and the players we met were all very friendly and welcoming.  Had the football team and coaches been anything like the ones in the new Freevee series, God. Family. Football., I never would have entertained his joining even for a second.  Fuck that sports cult bullshit.

*Crackle continues to be a thing with an app and content and everything, but this week they actually have something interesting: a Ukrainian medieval comedy-adventure series called Cossacks about a Ukrainian peasant raised by an aristocrat who has adventures like stealing jewels from the Russian Tsar and freeing his mother from the Ottomans (the empire, not the furniture).  The show was filmed in Ukraine and features many actors currently fighting the Russian invasion.  That and the fun trailer make it worth at least checking out the first episode, even if you have to download fucking Crackle to do so.

PREMIERES

God. Family. Football.

🏈 God. Family. Football. (Freevee, 12:01 AM) SERIES PREMIERE. 'Follows former pro football player, legendary high school football coach, and pastor Denny Duron, as he comes out of a 30-year retirement from head coaching to lead the football program he founded at Evangel Christian Academy back to national prominence.'✔️

🔔 Cossacks (Crackle, 3:01 AM) SEASONE ONE. 'Follows the irreverent exploits of Ivan, a young Ukrainian peasant raised by a Polish aristocrat who grows into a likable adventure-seeking rogue. His cheeky disposition enables him to rob the Tsar of Moscow of a set of precious jewels, yet it's to a noble end: he needs the royal riches to free his mother from the Ottomans who have enslaved her. However, Ivan accidentally also makes off with a magical heirloom, an earring that had helped the Moscow Tsar defeat his enemies and leads Ivan into endless escapades.'✔️

🎥 A Day and a Half (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 'In a desperate bid to reunite with his daughter, an armed man bursts into the medical center where his estranged wife works and kidnaps her.

🎥 Friday Night Plan (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 'When their mother takes off on a business trip, two bickering brothers unite to secretly attend the hottest party of the year before she returns.'✔️

🎥 Happy Ending (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 'A year into their otherwise happy relationship, Luna's suggestion to include a third person in their sex life turns her bond with Mink upside down.'

🎥 Perpetrator (Shudder, 3:01 AM) 'Jonny Baptiste (Kiah McKirnan) is a reckless teen sent to live with her estranged Aunt Hildie (Alicia Silverstone). On her 18th birthday, she experiences a radical metamorphosis: a family spell that redefines her called Forevering. When several teen girls go missing at her new school, a mythically feral Jonny goes after the Perpetrator.'✔️

RETURNING SHOWS

🧙‍♀️The Wheel of Time (Amazon, 12:01 AM) SEASON TWO PREMIERE. 'The Wheel of Time turns, and the Last Battle approaches. Though Rand thought he destroyed the Dark One, evil is not gone from the world. In season two, threats new and very old seek out the young friends from the Two Rivers, now scattered over the world.'✔️

💖 Love is Blind: After the Altar (Netflix, 3:01 AM) SPECIAL PRESENTATION.

🔔 Power Book IV: Force (Starz, 8:00 PM) SEASON TWO PREMIERE.

The Wheel of Time

STREAMING

🔔 Harlan Coben's Shelter (Amazon, 12:01 AM) 

🔔 The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Amazon, 12:01 AM) SEASON FINALE. 

🚀 Foundation (Apple, 12:01 AM) "The Last Empress" 

⚖ Tribunal Justice (Freevee, 12:01 AM) 

🍴 Markkim + Chef (Max, 3:01 AM) 

👮‍♂️ Crime Cam 24/7 (Fox Nation, 6:00 PM) 

LIVE SPORTSBALL TODAY/TONIGHT

🎾 2023 US Open Tennis (ESPN, 12:00 PM)

⚽ Premier League Soccer: Luton Town vs. West Ham United (USA, 3:00 PM)

🎾 2023 US Open Tennis: Third Round (ESPN2, 6:00 PM)

🏌️‍♀️ LPGA Tour Golf: Portland Classic, Second Round (Golf, 6:00 PM)

⚾ Friday Night Baseball: Seattle Mariners at New York Mets (Apple, 7:00 PM)

⚾ Friday Night Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Cleveland Guardians (Apple, 7:00 PM)

🏈 High School Football: Charlotte Catholic (NC) at Providence Day (NC) (ESPNU, 7:00 PM)

🏈 College Football: Louisville vs. Georgia Tech (ESPN, 7:30 PM)

🥊 One Championship Special: One Fight Night 14 (Amazon, 8:00 PM)

🏀 WNBA Basketball: Connecticut Sun at New York Liberty (Ion, 8:00 PM)

🏈 College Football: Stanford at Hawaii (CBSSN, 11:00 PM)

Friday Night Plan

🕗 MIDNIGHT EASTERN / 🕗 11:00 CENTRAL

🔔 My Adventures with Superman (Adult Swim, 12:00 AM) SEASON FINALE. 'It's Thanksgiving, and Clark, Lois, and Jimmy are heading to the Kent farm to celebrate - but the holiday turns into a fight for survival as Task Force X, family, and KRYPTONITE collide!'

🕗 8:00 EASTERN / 🕖 7:00 CENTRAL

🔨 Secret Celebrity Renovation (CBS, 8:00 PM) 'Professional football player Damar Hamlin returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh to tackle a major home renovation for his grandmother Portia.'

⚖ Family Law (CW, 8:00 PM) 'The firm represents a young superstar whose reckless behavior has led her older brother to push for a conservatorship; Daniel's embarrassment over a botched live TV interview leads to the revelation that he has feelings for Martina.'

🔔 Power Book IV: Force (Starz, 8:00 PM) 'Tommy and Diamond hustle to keep CBI's game ahead of Jenard's new faction in the streets, while Tommy makes solo moves to avenge Liliana's death; all the while, Tommy hasn't forgotten his ultimate goal to become a kingpin.'

🤼‍♂️ WWE's Friday Night Smackdown (Fox, 8:00 PM) 
💰 Gold Rush: Freddy Dodge's Mine Rescue (Discovery, 8:00 PM) 
💀 People Magazine Presents: Crimes of the 2000s (ID, 8:00 PM) 
🚗 Engine Masters (Motortrend, 8:00 PM) 
🔔 Ridiculousness (MTV, 8:00 PM) 
💖 Ready to Love (OWN, 8:00 PM) 

🕗 9:00 EASTERN / 🕖 8:00 CENTRAL

⚖ Family Law (CW, 9:00 PM) SEASON FINALE. 'As her probation comes to an end, Abby is torn between her new life at Svensson and Svensson, and a lucrative offer from her former firm; Harry is forced to choose between his daughter and his pride.'

🍴 Diners, Drive-ins & Dives (Food, 9:00 PM) 'Guy Fieri road trips across America to check out classic greasy spoons. With a new generation of owners and delicious homemade food, these are the kind of places that make America special.'

🔔 Minx (Starz, 9:00 PM) 'Constance, Joyce, and Tina head to a wilderness retreat to pick Minx International publishers; at Bottom Dollar, Richie has to replace a centerfold and scrambles to redo the new issue.'

💀 Dateline NBC (NBC, 9:00 PM) 
💀 Witness to Murder: Digital Evidence (A&E, 9:00 PM) 
🏠 My Lottery Dream Home (HGTV, 9:00 PM) 
🚗 Super Street Garage (Motortrend, 9:00 PM)
🔔 Ridiculousness (MTV, 9:00 PM) 
🔔 Time of Essence (OWN, 9:00 PM) 
💀 The Real Murders of Atlanta (Oxygen, 9:00 PM) 
💖 Love During Lockup (WE, 9:00 PM) 
🔔 Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham (Starz, 9:30 PM) SEASON FINALE. 
💰 Hoffman Family Gold (Discovery, 9:31 PM) 

Perpatrator

🕗 10:00 EASTERN / 🕖 9:00 CENTRAL

🤼‍♂️ Heels (Starz, 10:00 PM) 'Jack, Ace, and Staci prepare for a potentially life-changing meeting; Willie and Wild Bill think back on an exciting time in the DWL's infancy, when a young Tom Spade faced a similar opportunity.'

🚗 Runs Good (Motortrend, 10:00 PM) 
🤼‍♂️ All Elite Wrestling: Rampage (TNT, 10:00 PM) 
💀 Women on Death Row (A&E, 10:01 PM) 
💰 Outback Opal Hunters (Discovery, 10:31 PM)

LATE NIGHT

🔔 How to with John Wilson (HBO, 11:00 PM) SERIES FINALE. 'How to Track Your Package'

🔔 The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (NBC, 11:34 PM) 'Chris Martin talks and performs with The Weirdos; actress Bryce Dallas Howard.'

🔔 Late Night with Seth Myers (NBC, 12:37 PM) 'Actor Jim Parsons; comic Amber Ruffin; writer Lacey Lamar; Bryan Carter sits in with the 8G Band.'

🔔 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, 6:00 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 - 8:00 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); Seinfeld (Comedy Central, 2:00 - 6:00 PM); The Andy Griffith Show (TVLand, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM); Family Ties (Antenna, 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM); One Day at a Time (Antenna, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM); The Office (Comedy Central, 6:00 PM - 12:00 AM); Three's Company (Antenna, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM); Everybody Loves Raymond (TVLand, 7:00 PM - 11:05 PM); The Jeffersons (Antenna, 8:00 PM -9:00 PM); Barney Miller (Antennae, 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM); King of Queens (TVLand, 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 (TVLand,3:10 AM - 4:50 AM)

📺 Johnny Carson (Antenna, 10:00 PM) 'Actress Doris Day; comic Rodney Dangerfield; actor Burt Mustin; actress Carol Wayne; The Mighty Carson Art Players.'

Cossacks

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

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