What's On Tonight (Friday): It's a Narrow Road to the Deep North, to the Sweetest Girl I Know...

   

The Narrow Road to the Deep North

There are some decent premieres today, though none that particularly pique my interest.  That's more a condemnation of the narrowness of my interests than the quality of the premieres.  You know what else is narrow?  The road to the deep north, and today's Top Pick, The Narrow Road to the Deep North, would seem to back me up on that.

The story follows Dorrigo Evans at different points in his life: a young man having an affair with his uncle's wife, a POW forced to help build the Burma railroad, and a revered yet guilt-ridden surgeon unable to shake off his demons.  Reviews are excellent and the trailer gives the impression of a huge sweeping epic with romance, action and drama.  This limited series might have something for everyone, especially love-sick ex-POW surgeons.

TOP PICK

⭐🔔 The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Amazon, 3:01 AM) LIMITED SERIES. 'A savagely beautiful five-part series charting the life of Dorrigo Evans, through his passionate love affair with Amy Mulvaney, his time held captive in a POW camp, and his later years spent as a revered surgeon and reluctant war hero.'

Elsewhere...

*Runner up for Top Pick today is the streaming premiere of the Jude Law/Nicholas Hoult starrer The Order.  Based on a true story, the film follows an FBI agent investigating a series of violent robberies being perpetrated by a white supremacist gang looking to launch a revolution.  I don't know how the film ends but looking at the current political environment, I'd say the gang was ultimately successful beyond their wildest dreams.  

*If you're looking for something less depressing, why not check out the streaming premiere of Companion on Max?  Starring Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid, the story follows a man and his robotic girlfriend as they attend a weekend getaway with friends.  Shit goes south as shit usually does in films where there's a hot female-presenting android present.  Here's a suggestion for anyone in the future who decides to build an android: don't make superhuman abilities an option.

*LMN has the premiere of Get Rich or Die Trying, which is not, nor is even related to the 50 Cent film from 2005.  I assume Lifetime is trying to put one over on its viewers, but I'm sure those who watch the Lifetime Movie Network on a regular basis are savvy enough to see through this flim flam.

PREMIERES

The Order

🎥 The Order (Hulu, 12:01 AM) STREAMING PREMIERE. 'For over a year, a series of bold daylight bank robberies and armored car heists leaves law enforcement baffled, and the public panicked throughout the Pacific Northwest. As the attacks become increasingly violent, FBI agent Terry Husk becomes convinced that the robberies are the work of a domestic terrorist gang that plan to use the loot to finance an armed uprising against the U.S. government.  Starring Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult.  Based on a true story.'

🎥 Companion (Max, 3:01 AM) STREAMING PREMIERE. 'A weekend getaway with friends at a remote cabin turns into chaos after it's revealed that one of the guests is not what they seem.'

🎥 iHostage (Netfilx, 3:01 AM) 'When a gunman enters an Apple Store in the heart of Amsterdam, the police face a delicate challenge to resolve the standoff.'

🎥 Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 'This gripping documentary revisits the shocking 1995 bombing of an Oklahoma City federal building, the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in US history.'

🎥 Wolf Man (Peacock, 3:01 AM) STREAMING PREMIERE. 'Follows Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte, fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger. But as the family approaches the farmhouse they're attacked by an unseen animal and barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter.'

🎥 Dead Mail (Shudder, 3:01 AM) 'On a desolate road, a bound man crawls towards a postal box, managing to slide a blood-stained message into the slot before a figure closes in behind him. The note makes its way to the county post office and onto the desk of Jasper, a seasoned and skilled "dead letter" investigator, responsible for investigating lost mail and returning it to its sender.'

🎥 Get Rich or Die Trying (LMN, 8:00 PM) 'While searching for her missing sister, Nicole comes face-to-face with the marketing mogul who's holding her captive. With nowhere else to turn, she soon devises a plan to take down the demented businesswoman and her pyramid of schemes.'

RETURNING SHOWS

🔔 Jane (Apple, 12:01 AM) SEASON THREE.

🔔 Light & Magic (Disney+, 3:01 AM) SEASON TWO.

🔔 Lu & The Bally Bunch (Max, 3:01 AM) SEASON 1B.

Wolf Man

STREAMING

🔔 Dope Thief (Apple, 12:01 AM) "Mussolini" 

🔔 Your Friends & Neighbors (Apple, 12:01 AM) "Theoretical Herpes" 

⚖️ Tribunal Justice (Amazon, 3:01 AM) 

🔍 Agathe Christie's Towards Zero (BritBox, 3:01 AM) SEASON FINALE. "Episode 3" 

😇 Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints (Fox Nation, 3:01 AM) SEASON FINALE.  "Mary Magdelene" 

🔔 A Decent Man (Max, 3:01 AM) 

✡ Reformed (Max, 3:01 AM) 

🔔 When No One Sees Us (Max, 3:01 AM) 

👮 Cops (Fox Nation, 6:00 PM) 

LIVE SPORTSBALL TODAY/TONIGHT

🏌️ PGA Tour Golf: Corales Puntacana Championship, Second (Golf, 10:00 AM)

🏎️ Formula 1 Racing: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Practice 2 (ESPN2, 12:55 PM)

🏌️ PGA Tour Golf: RBC Heritage, Second Round (Golf, 2:00 PM) 

🏌️ LPGA Tour Golf: JM Eagle LA Championship, Second Round (Golf, 6:00 PM)

⚾ MLB Baseball: Minnesota Twins at Atlanta Braves (Apple, 7:00 PM)

⚾ MLB Baseball: Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays (Apple, 7:00 PM)

🥍 Men's College Lacrosse: Navy at Loyola (Md.) (CBSSN, 7:00 PM)

🥊 Professional Fighters League: PFL World Tournament, First Round (ESPN, 7:00 PM)

⚾ College Baseball: Virginia at Florida State (ESPN2, 7:00 PM)

🥎 College Softball: Oklahoma State at UCF (ESPNU, 7:00 PM)

🏀 NBA Basketball: Play-In Tournament: Teams TBA (TruTV, 7:30 PM)

🏈 United Football League: Memphis Showboats at Michigan Panthers (Fox, 8:00 PM)

⚾ College Baseball: Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo at UC Santa Barbara (ESPNU, 9:00 PM)

🏀 NBA Basketball: Dallas Mavericks at Memphis Grizzlies (ESPN, 9:30 PM)

⚽ NWSL Soccer: Seattle Reign vs Portland Thorns (Amazon, 10:00 PM)

⚾ College Baseball: Texas Tech at Arizona State (ESPN2, 10:00 PM)

iHostage

EARLY PRIMETIME

🧽 The Patrick Star Show (Nickelodeon, 7:00 PM) 'Patrick housesits for Granny Tentacles; the Dartfish adopt Plankton.'

🧽 Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years (Nickelodeon, 7:30 PM) 'SpongeBob and Patrick compete to be camp mascot; Krabs and Squidward play a dangerous game.'

💲 Beat the Bridge (GSN, 6:30 PM) 
💲 Tic Tac Dough (GSN, 7:00 PM) 
💲 Bingo Blitz (GSN, 7:30 PM) 

 8:00 EASTERN / 🕖 7:00 CENTRAL

🦈 Shark Tank (ABC, 8:00 PM) 'A handheld personal groomer; a picturesque alternative to a cat perch; scented nasal diffusers; gourmet mozzarella sticks one can make at home.'

🔔 NCIS: Sydney (CBS, 8:00 PM) 'The team battles searing temperatures to investigate the death of a U.S. Marine corporal killed during a joint training exercise between U.S. and Australian troops.'

🔔 RuPaul's Drag Race (MTV, 8:00 PM) SEASON FINALE. 'The top queens face off in an evening of performances and lip syncs as they compete for a grand prize of $200,000; superstar Liza Minnelli joins RuPaul on stage.'

🌱 Grosse Pointe Garden Society (NBC, 8:00 PM) 

💰 Gold Rush (Discovery Channel, 8:00 PM) 
🎥 Get Rich or Die Trying (LMN, 8:00 PM) 

🔔 The Never Ever Mets (OWN, 8:00 PM) 

👮 On Patrol: First Shift (Reelz, 8:00 PM) 

🔔 Power Book III: Raising Kanan (Starz, 8:02 PM) 

🤼‍♂️ WWE's Friday Night Smackdown (USA, 8:00 PM) 
💖 Love After Lockup (WE, 8:00 PM) 

🕗 9:00 EASTERN / 🕖 8:00 CENTRAL

🔥 Fire Country (CBS, 9:00 PM) 'The station 42 crew responds to a routine house fire that escalates into a dangerous situation for one of their own.'

🎭 Great Performances (PBS, 9:00 PM) 'Musicians take an all-night walking tour of Madrid to better understand how the city inspired Boccherini's music.'

👽 The Unbelieveable with Dan Ackroyd (History, 9:00 PM) 'History is riddled with discoveries, from gold to lost treasures, to scientific findings; some discoveries are anything but ordinary; like severed feet on a beach or finding evidence of a tiny otherworldly creature; each is weirder than the last.'

💀 Dateline NBC (NBC, 9:00 PM) 
👮 Live PD: Police Patrol (A&E, 9:00 PM) 
🍴 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives (Food, 9:00 PM) 
🏠 My Lottery Dream Home (HGTV, 9:00 PM) 
🔨 Beachfront Bargain Hunt Renovation (Magnolia, 9:00 PM) 
👮 On Patrol: Live (Reelz, 9:00 PM) 
🔔 20/20 (ABC, 9:01 PM) 

Dead Mail

🕗 10:00 EASTERN / 🕖 9:00 CENTRAL

👮S.W.A.T. (CBS, 10:00 PM) 'When a violent shooting rocks a Los Angeles nightclub, Hondo and 20-Squad are thrust into the dark world of sex trafficking, going head-to-head with a notorious biker club as they race to find a missing girl.'

👽 Secrets Declassified with David Duchovny (History, 10:03 PM) 'Newly uncensored evidence will reveal the lengths that the few and the elite have gone to within the most hostile lands, all in the name of completing the mission.'

💰 Gold Rush: White Water (Discovery, 10:00 PM) 
🔔 Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO, 10:00 PM) 
🔔 TNT Sports Conversations (TruTV, 10:00 PM) 

LATE NIGHT

🔔 Late Night with Seth Myers (NBC, 12:37 AM) 'Day Drinking with Paul Rudd; actor Ike Barinholtz; comic Michael Longfellow.'

🔔 After Midnight (CBS, 12:37 AM) 'Actor Bobby Moynihan; actor Thomas Lennon; actress Mary Elizabeth Ellis.'

🔔 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC, 11:34 PM) 
🔔 Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC, 11:35 PM) 
🔔 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS, 11:35 PM) 
🔔 Nightline (ABC, 12:37 AM)
🔔 Late Night with Seth Myers (NBC, 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 - 10:00 AM); Roseanne (CMT, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM); Living Single (TV One, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM); M*A*S*H* (TVLand, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM); South Park (Comedy Central, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM); Gunsmoke (TVLand, 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM); Seinfeld (Comedy Central, 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM); The Andy Griffith Show (TVLand, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM); Family Ties (Antenna, 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM); The Office (Comedy Central, 5:00 PM - 11:00 PM); The Drew Carey Show (Antenna, 6:00 PM - 7:00 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); Becker (Antenna, 10:00 PM - 11:00 PM); The King of Queens (TVLand, 11:00 PM - 2:00 AM); Wings (12:00 AM - 1:00 AM); Designing Women (Antenna, 1:00 AM - 2:00 AM)

📺 Johnny Carson (Antenna, 11:00 PM) 'Mariette Hartley; Michael Palin.'

Companion

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

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