What's On Tonight (Friday): Turtles Have Tales...

      

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a better film than it has any right to be.  Most of that can be chalked up to Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg, who have become two of the most unlikely titans in the entertainment industry, and producers of surprisingly quality films and series.  With Mutant Mayhem, hey managed to hit on the one thing most of the adaptations have missed: that these guys are teenagers with the same insecurities and goofy awkwardness that goes with the age.  They cast actual teenagers in the roles, got them all in the same room for recordings, and then just let them be teenagers.  Add on some very Across the Spider-verse-style animation and it's practically a classic.

A sequel is on the way, but in the meantime, Paramount is gifting us with Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Using the same voice cast as the film but embracing a more cost effective 2-D animation style, the series will follow the day-to-day lives of the Turtles as they balance being teenagers with saving New York City on a regular basis.  I'll definitely be checking it out.

TOP PICK

⭐🐢 Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Netflix, 3:01 AM) SEASON ONE. 'Set two months after the events of the film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, the series follows the Turtles as they navigate their dual lives as both teenagers and heroes in New York City.'✔️

Elsewhere...

*I considered making The Instigators Top Pick, but the reviews are pretty bad (42% on Rotten Tomatoes).  That's disappointing as I like Damon and director Doug Liman, but it sounds like this is yet another streaming movie that will be memory holed within a few minutes of premiering.  No wonder Apple has decided to cut back on how much they spend on content.  I'm just surprised it took them this long to do it.

*Yo Gabba Gabba! came along at a perfect time for our family.  My older son started watching when he was less than a year old (he was obsessed with the Jack Black episode).  The series has been revived by Apple and is now called Yo Gabba Gabbaland!.  I was happy to see some of the old favorites in the trailer, but disappointed DJ Lance Rock isn't back.  I won't be watching as my kids are way too old for this stuff now, but I'm happy to know a new generation might discover it.

*AMC has the streaming premiere of Force of Nature: The Dry 2, which might be one of the worst titles I have ever read.  It's a murder mystery starring Eric Bana and Anna Torv, both of whom are enough on their own to pique my interest.  But will I be able to follow it without having seen the original, which I can only assume was titled The Dry?  

PREMIERES

The Instigators

🎥 The Instigators (Apple, 12:01 AM) 'Rory and Cobby are reluctant partners: a desperate father and an ex-con thrown together to rob a corrupt politician's ill-gained earnings. But when the heist goes wrong, the two find themselves engulfed in a whirlwind of chaos, pursued not only by police but also by backward bureaucrats and vengeful crime bosses. Starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck.'✔️

🔔 Yo Gabba Gabbaland! (Apple, 12:01 AM) SEASON ONE. 'Invites audiences to explore a magical world of endless possibilities and promise with friends both familiar and new, in a reimagining that brings to life an expansive Yo Gabba GabbaLand.'✔️

🎥 Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (AMC, 3:01 AM) 'Five women head out on a remote hiking retreat but only four return, each telling a different story. Detective Aaron Falk must find out what really happened before time runs out. Starring Eric Bana and Anna Torv.'✔️

🍰 Blue Ribbon Baking Championship (Netflix, 3:01 AM) SEASON ONE. 'Blue ribbon-winning bakers from state fairs across the US face off for the first time in an epic baking showdown to win top honors and $100,000.'

🎥 Inside the Mind of a Dog (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 'Embarking on a delightful journey into the world of dogs that reveals scientific and emotional insights about the lovable BFFs. Narrated by Rob Lowe.'✔️

🎥 Mission: Cross (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 'In the ultimate test of marriage, an agent-turned-househusband gets tangled in a perilous mission with his detective wife, who's clueless about his past.'

🎥 Phir AAyi Hasseen Dillruba (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 'While evading the cops in Agra, Rani and Rishu scheme to run away together. But when their plans go awry, Rani asks a mild-mannered admirer for help.'

🎥 The Bikeriders (Peacock, 3:01 AM) STREAMING PREMIERE. 'After a chance encounter at a local bar, strong-willed Kathy is inextricably drawn to Benny, the newest member of Midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals led by the enigmatic Johnny. Starring Jodie Comer, Austin Butler and Tom Hardy.'✔️

🎥 The Piper (Tubi, 3:01 AM) 'When a composer must finish her late mentor's concerto, she discovers that playing its music summons deadly consequences.'

🌋 Maui Rising: The Fight for Hawai'i's Future (ABC, 8:00 PM) SPECIAL PRESENTATION. 'Marking one year since a wildfire tore through the town of Lahaina, Maui; narrated by Jason Scott Lee.'

🔔 The Braxtons (WE, 9:30 PM) SERIES PREMIERE. 'The fierce Braxton women reunite for the first time since the loss of their beloved sister, Traci, offering viewers a raw and unfiltered look at the family's highs and lows.'

🔔 13 Days in Ferguson (CBS, 10:00 PM) SPECIAL PRESENTATION. 'A look at the protests, riots and aftermath following the 2014 police shooting of a young Black man; Cedric the Entertainer reunites with his longtime friend, retired Capt. Ron Johnson, for a personal journey of remembrance in Ferguson, Mo.'

🔔 Wiggin' Out with Tokyo Stylez (WE, 10:13 PM) SERIES PREMIERE. 'Follows the famed hairstylist to the stars as she takes center stage, creating iconic custom wigs for high-profile celebrity clients such as Cardi B, Trina Braxton, Reginae Carter, TS Madison, Tiffany "New York" Pollard, Ari Fletcher, Flo Milli and more.'

The Bikeriders

RETURNING SHOWS

🔔 Pokemon Horizons: The Series (Netflix, 3:01 AM) PART THREE.

💰 Freddy Dodge's Mine Rescue (Discovery Channel, 8:00 PM) SPECIAL PRESENTATION.

STREAMING

🔔 Betty La Fea: The Story Continues (Amazon, 3:01 AM) 

🍴 Jinny's Kitchen (Amazon, 12:01 AM) 

🔔 Lady in the Lake (Apple, 12:01 AM) "Every Time Someone Turns Up Dead in That Lake, It Does Seem to Lead to You" 

⚖ Judy Justice (Freevee, 12:01 AM) 

🔔 El Encargado (Hulu, 12:01 AM) 

🔔 Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture (Hulu, 3:01 AM) 

OLYMPICS

via allwavingflags.com

NBC: 🏃‍♂️🏐Track and Field, Diving, Beach Volleyball (1:00 AM); 🔔Women's Diving 3m Springboard Final (9:00 AM); 🏃‍♂️Track and Field Heats: Men's & Women's 4x400m & More (10:15 AM); 🏀Women's Basketball: US vs Australia (11:30 AM); 🏃‍♂️Track and Field Finals: Men's & Women's 4x100m & More (1:30 PM); 🤸‍♂️Rhythmic Gymnastics Individual All-Around Final (NBC, 4:00 PM); 🏐Women's Beach Volleyball Gold Final (4:30 PM); 🏃‍♂️🏐Track and Field, Beach Volleyball, Breaking (8:00 PM); 🧗‍♀️🏊‍♀️Sport Climbing, Artistic Swimming (11:35 PM)

E!: 🔔Men's Diving 10m Platform Preliminary (4:00 AM); 🧗‍♀️Sport Climbing Men's Combined: Final (6:40 AM); 🛶Sprint: Canoe, Kayak Finals (7:15 AM); 🤸‍♂️Rhythmic Gymnastics Group Qualification (8:00 AM); 🤽‍♀️Water Polo & More (8:30 AM); 🔔Women's Breaking Qualification (10:00 AM); 🚴‍♀️Track Cycling Men's Sprint, Women's Madison (12:20 PM); 🏓Men's Team Table Tennis: Bronze Final (12:50 PM); 🚴‍♀️Track Cycling Men's Sprint, Women's Madison (1:30 PM); 🔔Women's Breaking Final (2:00 PM); 🏊‍♀️Artistic Swimming Duet: Technical Routine (3:45 PM); 

Golf: 🏌️‍♀️Women's Golf Third Round: Part 1 (3:00 AM); 🏌️‍♀️Women's Golf Third Round: Part 2 (7:00 AM)

USA: 🏊‍♀️Men's 10km Open Water Swimming (1:30 AM); 🚴‍♀️Track Cycling: Women's Keirin, Men's Ominum (3:30 AM); Track and Field Heats: Men's & Women's 4x400m & More (4:00 AM); 🏋️‍♀️Weightlifting Men's 73kg; Women's 59kh Finals (7:15 AM); 🥊🥋Boxing, Taekwondo (7:45 AM); 🤼‍♂️Wrestling M 74kg, 125kg, W 62kg Freestyle Eliminations (8:30 AM); Women's Soccer, Bronze Medal Match: Spain vs Germany (9:00 AM); 🏑Women's Field Hockey, Bronze Medal Match: Argentina vs Belgium (11:00 AM); ⚽Men's Soccer, Gold Medal Match: France vs Spain (12:00 PM); 🏐Men's Volleyball, Bronze Medal Match: Italy vs US (2:00 PM); Women's Beach Volleyball Bronze Final (3:00 PM); 🏓Men's Table Tennis: Gold Final (4:00 PM); 🤼‍♂️Wrestling Finals: M&W Freestyle 57kg & More (5:00 PM); 🏋️‍♀️Women's Weightlifting 71kg Finals (5:45 PM); 🏑Women's Field Hockey, Gold Medal Match: Netherlands vs China (9:30 PM)

There is coverage on MSNBC and CNBC too, but I have been unable to find their schedules.

LIVE NON-OLYMPICS SPORTSBALL TODAY/TONIGHT

⚾ Little League Baseball Regionals (ESPN, 1:00 PM - 11:00 PM)

⚽ English Championship Soccer: Blackburn Rovers vs. Derby County (CBSSN, 3:00 PM)

🥎 2024 Little League Softball World Series: Teams TBA (ESPN2, 4:00 PM)

🏌️‍♀️ PGA Tour Champions Golf: Boeing Classic, First Round (Golf, 6:00 PM)

🥎 2024 Little League Softball World Series: Teams TBA (ESPN2, 7:00 PM)

⚾ MLB Baseball: Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee Brewers (Apple, 8:00 PM)

⚾ MLB Baseball: Cleveland Guardians at Minnesota Twins (Apple, 8:00 PM)

🥊 Invicta FC 56 (CBSSN, 9:00 PM)

🏃‍♂️ 2024 Crossfit Games (ESPN2, 9:00 PM)

🥎 Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball: Teams TBA (ESPNW, 9:00 PM)

Yo Gabba Gabbaland!

🕗 8:00 EASTERN / 🕖 7:00 CENTRAL

🐍 The Serpent Queen (Starz, 8:02 PM) 'Catherine relinquishes her seat on the Privy Council, but not before securing a place for Anjou; a religious war is on the horizon as Queen Elizabeth lands in the Netherlands; France's saving grace may be a marriage.'

🌋 Maui Rising: The Fight for Hawai'i's Future (ABC, 8:00 PM) 
💲 Lingo (CBS, 8:00 PM) 

🤼‍♂️ WWE's Friday Night Smackdown (Fox, 8:00 PM) 
🔔 The Very Very Best of the 80s (AXS, 8:00 PM) 
👮‍♂️ On Patrol: First Shift (Reelz, 8:00 PM)
💖 Love After Lockup (WE, 8:00 PM) 

🕗 9:00 EASTERN / 🕖 8:00 CENTRAL

👮‍♂️ Cold Case Files (A&E, 9:00 PM) 'Teens Llianna Adank and Eric Goldstrand are found shot to death at an Oregon park in 1977; detectives doggedly pursue leads for 40 years until a single piece of evidence leads them to a suspect three states away.' 

🍴 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Food, 9:00 PM) 'Guy Fieri travels for the best African and Asian food; a taste of Thailand in Boulder, Colo; a restaurant serving Pakistani food in Tempe, Ariz; a family-run Moroccan restaurant in San Antonio.'

👽 Ancient Aliens (History, 9:00 PM) 'On Dr. Jacques Vallee's work in the field of UFOs and his theories on alien life.'

🔔 20/20 (ABC, 9:00 PM) 
😂 Totally Funny Animals (CW, 9:00 PM) 
💰Hoffman Family Gold (Discovery Channel, 9:00 PM) 
👮‍♂️ On Patrol: Live (Reelz, 9:00 PM) 
😂 Totally Funny Kids (CW, 9:30 PM) 
🔔 The Braxtons (WE, 9:30 PM) 

Force of Nature: The Dry 2

🕗 10:00 EASTERN / 🕖 9:00 CENTRAL

💀 Tell Me How I Died (A&E, 10:01 PM) 'After a man is shot dead, pathologist Dr. Antoine Wrice works with investigators to interpret unusual evidence found on scene and unwind the complex case that could be more than a typical homicide.' 

👽 The Proof is Out There: Alien Edition (History, 10:03 PM) 'Tony Harris and his team investigate Kansas and Japan for evidence of alien visitations on earth.'

🔔 13 Days in Ferguson (CBS, 10:00 PM) 
💰 Hoffman Family Gold (Discovery Channel, 10:00 PM) SEASON FINALE. 
🤼‍♂️ All Elite Wrestling: Rampage (TNT, 10:00 PM) 
🔔 Wiggin' Out with Tokyo Stylez (WE, 10:13 PM) 

LATE NIGHT

🔔 Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC, 11:35 PM) 'Lamorne Morris guest hosts; comic Marlon Wayans; actor Bowen Yang; comic Matt Rogers; Brigitte Calls Me Baby performs.'

🔔 After Midnight (CBS, 12:37 AM) 'Comic Sherry Cola; actor Solomon Georgio; comic Debra DiGiovanni.

🔔 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS, 11:35 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 - 2:00 PM); 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); Gunsmoke (TVLand, 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM); Seinfeld (Comedy Central, 2:00 PM - 6:00 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); The Office (Comedy Central, 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM); Three's Company (Antenna, 7:00 PM - 8:00 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) 'Actor Dennis Hopper; wildlife expert Joan Embery; actor Rich Hall.'

Inside the Mind of a Dog

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

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