What's On Tonight (Friday): He's Got a Name, He's Got a Number, Now They're Arresting You...

     

Hit Man

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the profession of "hitman" and/or "assassin" is a little overrepresented in modern film.  Netflix has produced a number of these films lately.  Of the ones I've seen there's Kate, Gunpowder Milkshake, and The Killer - all of which I enjoyed - so I guess I'm part of the reason they keep making these things.  I am the coarsening of society.

So why, oh why, is Richard Linklater throwing his hat into the killer for hire ring with his new film "Hit Man?"  Well, for one, his movie isn't about a real hitman, it's about a man who pretends to be a hitman so he can help the police catch people who want to hire him.  He dons a number of disguises and personas to try to fit whatever the target thinks a hitman should be (the trailer has something of a Fletch feel to it).  Then he meets a woman, and you probably know the rest... Or do you?  Glenn Powell stars (cue the picture).

Glenn Powell and his parents (via thestar.com)

TOP PICK

⭐🎥 Hit Man (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 'Follows strait-laced professor Gary Johnson, who moonlights as a fake hit man for the New Orleans Police Department. Preternaturally gifted at inhabiting different guises and personalities to catch hapless people hoping to bump off their enemies, Gary descends into morally dubious territory when he finds himself attracted to one of those potential criminals, a beautiful young woman named Madison. Directed by Richard Linklater.'

Elsewhere...

*I've been out for a few weeks dealing with a death in the family, but I still managed to get the Friday WOTs up while I was away.  I haven't been able to watch much of anything over the last few weeks and looking back at my Top Picks from that period, I don't think I missed much.  I suppose I would have watched Atlas eventually if I hadn't read over and over again how much it sucks.  This is where someone says I should watch it and form my own opinion.  The reason we share our opinions is to help guide other people, and when almost everyone I know who has an opinion on this move says it sucks, I'm just going to assume it sucks and move on to something else.  

*AMC+ has the premiere of No Way Up, a plane crash movie where the survivors end up in a pressurized cabin beneath the ocean.  The movie looks like a budget version of Poseiden Adventure, but the part that stands out to me is Colm Meaney, who is the only actor I recognized from the trailer, plays some rich girl's handler/bodyguard.  Colm Meaney is 71 years old.  Don't get me wrong, he looks great for his age, but in a film that features people alive in a submerged airplane surrounded by sharks (did I mention the sharks?!), Meaney playing someone's bodyguard might be the hardest thing to swallow.

*I'm not sure what the new HBO series, Fantasmas, is going for.  It seems comedic but in a weird, trippy sort of way.  It's not for me but I appreciate that it seems to be trying some things.  If it's good, it could hit cult status, if anything ever truly hits cult status these days.  Actually, it's probably truer to say that not much gets beyond cult status these days.

PREMIERES

Becoming Karl Lagerfield

🔔 Becoming Karl Lagerfield (Hulu, 12:01 AM) LIMITED SERIES. 'In 1972, Karl Lagerfeld is 38 and not yet wearing his iconic hairstyle. He is a ready-to-wear designer, unknown to the general public. While he meets and falls in love with the sultry Jacques de Bascher, an ambitious and troubling young dandy, the most mysterious of fashion designers dares to take on his friend (and rival) Yves Saint Laurent, a genius of haute couture backed by the redoubtable businessman Pierre Bergé.'

👑 Queenie (Hulu, 12:01 AM) SEASON ONE. 'Follows a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in south London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither. After a messy breakup with her long-term boyfriend, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong places and begins to realize she has to face the past head-on before she can rebuild.'

🎥 No Way Up (AMC+, 3:01 AM) 'Ava, the daughter of the Governor of California, is hoping for a peaceful getaway with friends in the resort town of Cabo, Mexico -- with her faithful minder Brandon in tow. But when the plane crashes in the Pacific Ocean and comes to rest on the edge of an underwater ravine, Ava and a handful of survivors are trapped in the airlocked cabin.'

🔔 Hierarchy (Netflix, 3:01 AM) SEASON ONE. 'The top 0.01% of students control law and order at Jusin High School, but a secretive transfer student chips a crack in their indomitable world.'

🥊 Fight Inc: Inside the UFC (Roku. 3:01 AM) SEASON ONE. 'Chronicles the euphoric highs and crushing lows that UFC President Dana White and his most trusted advisors face every day in the fight business. A charismatic cast of athletes rounds out this behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run the world's premier mixed martial arts organization'

🔔 Clickbait: Unfollowed (Tubi, 3:01 AM) SPECIAL PRESENTATION. 'A group of influencers are invited to a house for a competition with deadly consequences.'

🎥 Tipline Mysteries: Dial 1 for Murder (HMC, 9:00 PM) 'A cryptic call about a planned jewelry heist draws a Detroit Free Press tipline operator, Maddie Moore, into a dangerous homicide case alongside a newly promoted detective.'

🔔 Protecting Paradise: The Story of Niue (NGC, 10:00 PM) SPECIAL PRESENTATION. 'Niue is a small island nation with big plans to protect ocean resources.'

🔔 Fantasmas (HBO, 11:00 PM) SERIES PREMIERE. 'Julio Torres spins a fantastical six-part tale of when he lost a gold oyster earring. In his search to find the precious object, Julio reflects on the offbeat characters he encounters in introspective, often eerie, and always comedic vignettes set in a dreamy, alternate version of New York City.'

Fantasmas

RETURNING SHOWS

💖 Perfect Match (Netflix, 3:01 AM) SEASON TWO.

🤖 Transformers: Earthspark (Paramount, 3:01 AM) SEASON TWO.

🔔 The 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (CBS, 8:00 PM)

🔔 Power Book II: Ghost (Starz, 8:00 PM) SEASON FOUR PREMIERE.

🍴 Guy's All-American Road Trip (Food Network, 9:00 PM) SEASON THREE PREMIERE.

STREAMING

🚬 The Big Cigar (Apple, 12:01 AM) "Lost Paradise" 

🔔 Destination Heaven (GAPF, 3:01 AM) 

🏠 Diary of an Old Home (Max, 3:01 AM) 

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

🔔 The Chi (Paramount+, 3:01 AM) "Legacy" 

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

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

🚀 Doctor Who (Disney+, 7:01 PM) "Rogue" 

🎥 The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs (Shudder, 9:00 PM) 

No Way Up

LIVE SPORTSBALL TODAY/TONIGHT

🎾 2024 Roland-Garros Tennis: Men's Semifinals (NBC, 11:00 AM)

⚾ College Baseball: NCAA Tournament: Connecticut at Florida State (ESPN, 12:00 PM)

🏌️‍♀️ LPGA Tour Golf: ShopRite LPGA Classic, First Round (Golf, 12:00 PM)

🏎 Formula 1 Racing: Canadian Grand Prix, Practice 1 (ESPNU, 1:25 PM)

🏌️‍♂️ PGA Tour Golf: The Memorial Tournament, Second Round (Golf, 2:00 PM)

⚾ College Baseball: NCAA Tournament: Evansville at Tennessee (ESPN2, 3:00 PM)

🏎 Formula 1 Racing: Canadian Grand Prix, Practice 2 (ESPNU, 4:55 PM)

⚾ College Baseball: NCAA Tournament: West Virginia at North Carolina (ESPN2, 6:00 PM)

⚾ MLB Baseball: Minnesota Twins at Pittsburgh Pirates (Apple, 6:30 PM)

⚾ MLB Baseball: Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Yankees (Apple, 7:00 PM) 

⚾ College Baseball: NCAA Tournament: Kansas State at Virginia (ESPNU, 7:00 PM)

🏀 WNBA Basketball: Indiana Fever at Washington Mystics (Ion, 7:30 PM)

🥊 One Fight Night 23 (Amazon, 8:00 PM)

🥎 2024 Women's College World Series: Finals: Oklahoma vs. Texas (ESPN, 8:00 PM)

🏃‍♂️ College Track and Field: NCAA Outdoor Championship: Men's Day 2 (ESPN2, 9:00 PM)

🏀 WNBA Basketball: Seattle Storm at Las Vegas Aces (Ion, 10:00 PM)

Clickbait: Unfollowed

🕗 8:00 EASTERN / 🕖 7:00 CENTRAL

🔔 Power Book II: Ghost (Starz, 8:00 PM) 'Tariq and Brayden must find a way to secure their own safety as Noma and the Tejadas race to take them out; Monet fights for her life and for another chance to do right by her children.'

🔔 The 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (CBS, 8:00 PM) 

🤼‍♂️ WWE's Friday Night Smackdown (Fox, 8:00 PM) 
💰 Gold Rush: Parker's Trail (Discovery, 8:00 PM) 
💖 The Never Ever Mets (OWN, 8:00 PM) 
👮‍♂️ On Patrol: First Shift (Reelz, 8:00 PM) 

🕗 9:00 EASTERN / 🕖 8:00 CENTRAL

🍴 Guy's All-American Road Trip (Food Network, 9:00 PM) 'The Fieris bring chef Antonia Lofaso on their culinary road trip from South Dakota to Wyoming, and start their journey with an indigenous feast, ramen, a dude ranch hoedown and a barbecue lunch for the troops.'

👽 The Unexplained: Mysteries of the Universe (History, 9:00 PM) 'Humans want to go into uncharted territories to make discoveries; as the next era of space exploration begins it must be analyzed what humans will find when reaching other planets, as well as the dangers faced when trying to conquer new frontiers.'

🏎 100 Days to Indy (CW, 9:00 PM) SEASON FINALE. 
💰 Gold Rush: Parker's Trail (Discovery, 9:00 PM) 
🏠 My Lottery Dream Home (HGTV, 9:00 PM) 
🎥 Tipline Mysteries: Dial 1 for Murder (HMC, 9:00 PM) 
🐶 Cesar Milan: Better Human Better Dog (NGC, 9:00 PM) 
👮‍♂️ On Patrol: Live (Reelz, 9:00 PM) 
💖 Love During Lockup (WE, 9:00 PM) SEASON FINALE. 
🔔 20/20 (ABC, 9:01 PM) 

🕗 10:00 EASTERN / 🕖 9:00 CENTRAL

🔔 Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO, 10:00 PM) 
🔔 Protecting Paradise: The Story of Niue (NGC, 10:00 PM)
🤼‍♂️ All Elite Wrestling: Rampage (TNT, 10:00 PM) 
🔔 The Barnes Bunch (WE, 10:00 PM) SEASON FINALE. 
🏠 Zillow Gone Wild (HGTV, 10:30 PM) 

Fight Inc: Inside the UFC

LATE NIGHT

🔔 Fantasmas (HBO, 11:00 PM) 'While ignoring his landlord's urgent letters, Julio obtains a gold oyster earring then promptly loses it at the club; Julio explains his sensitivity to shapes, colors, numbers, and the alphabet to his fellow rideshare passengers.'

🔔 The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (NBC, 11:34 PM) 'Kate Hudson talks and performs; model Chrissy Teigen; singer-songwriter John Legend.'

🔔 After Midnight (CBS, 12:37 AM) 'Comic Joel Kim Booster; actress Greta Titelman; director Sandy Honig.'

🔔 Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC, 11:35 PM) 
🔔 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS, 11:35 PM) 
🔔 Late Night with Seth Myers (NBC, 12:36 PM) 
🔔 Nightline (ABC, 12:37 AM)

📺Broadcast/Cable/Satellite - RETRO BINGE📺

Law & Order (Pop, 6:00 AM - 8:00 PM); The Andy Griffith Show (Sundance, 6:00 AM - 1:00 PM); Futurama (Comedy Central, 7:00 AM - 10:10 AM); Roseanne (CMT, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM); M*A*S*H* (TVLand, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM); Living Single (TV One, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM); Hawaii Five-0 (Ion, 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM); South Park (Comedy Central, 10:10 AM - 2:30 PM); Gunsmoke (TVLand, 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM); Seinfeld (Comedy Central, 2:30 PM - 7:00 PM); The Andy Griffith Show (TVLand, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM); Family Ties (Antenna, 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM); Archie Bunker's Place (Antenna, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM); Three's Company (Antenna, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM); The Office (Comedy Central, 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM); Everybody Loves Raymond (TVLand, 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM); The Jeffersons (Antenna, 8:00 PM -9:00 PM); Barney Miller (Antennae, 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM); The King of Queens (TVLand, 11:00 PM - 2:00 AM); Designing Women (Antenna, 11:00 PM - 12:00 AM); Becker (Antenna, 12:00 AM - 1:00 AM); The Drew Carey Show (Antennae, 1:00 AM - 2:00 AM)

📺 Johnny Carson (Antenna, 10:00 PM) '"Saturday Night Live" performer Mary Gross does an imitation of Marilyn Monroe; Joan Embery brings out a hyena, penguin and baby gorilla.'

Queenie

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

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