News · TV

‘Rise,’ ‘For The People,’ ‘Jane,’ and More TV You Must See This Week

Also: documentaries about cults and the transgender experience and a new police procedural with a twist
Rise NBC
By  · Published on March 11th, 2018

This week, classic formulas get a new spin: Friday Night Lights’ producer Jason Katims returns to NBC with a new high school drama with a little touch of Glee, ABC adds magic to the police procedural, and Shondaland combines its Grey’s Anatomy roots with their trademark legal high-stakes drama. Documentaries cover everything from the puzzling story of a 1980s cult to transgender life post-op. Finally, to keep the mood light, there’s a Jody Hill comedy starring Danny McBride and Josh Brolin.

To help you keep track of the most important programs over the next seven days, here’s our guide to everything worth watching, whether it’s on broadcast, cable, or streaming for March 4th –10th (all times Eastern):

Deception (ABC, Sunday 10pm)

Fictional law enforcement has had some unconventional characters as consultants throughout the years: fake psychics (The Mentalist, Psych), con artists (White Collar), even devils who moonlight as club owners (Lucifer). Now, Jack Cutmore-Scott (Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life) joins the ranks of offbeat advisors as Cameron Black, a disgraced magician who uses his skill for illusion to help the FBI catch elusive criminals. Created by Chris Fedak (Chuck) and produced by Greg Berlanti (The CW’s Arrowverse), Deception also stars Ilfenesh Hadera, Lenora Crichlow, Amaury Nolasco, Justin Chon, Laila Robins, and Vinnie Jones.  

Jane (National Geographic, Monday 8pm)

One of the most popular and acclaimed and awarded documentaries of 2017, Jane is still considered one of the biggest snubs of the recent Oscars. The film manages to boil down over 100 hours of never-before-seen footage of iconic primatologist Jane Goodall that had been tucked away in the National Geographic archives for over 50 years into a 90-minute documentary that captures the essence and honors the legacy of one of the most admired conservationists. A Herculean task, and yet director Brett Morgen (Kurt Cobain: A Montage of Heck) achieved it. Set to a score composed by the legendary Philip Glass, Jane offers an intimate portrait of the woman whose chimpanzee research blazed trails and changed our understanding of the natural world. Definitely a must-watch.

Rise (NBC, Tuesday 10pm)

If you asked Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller and Parenthood producer Jason Katims to make a TV show together, the result would be something like Glee meets Friday Night Lights. That’s Rise in a nutshell. Based on Michael Sokolove’s book “Drama High” (which in turn is based on the true story of Harry S Truman High School’s drama program), the series follows Lou Mazzuchelli (Josh Radnor), a dedicated high school teacher who takes over the failing drama department and recruits a reluctant football player to mount the controversial musical Spring Awakening. Rosie Perez, Moana’s Auli’i Cravalho, and up-and-comers Damon J. Gillespie, Marley Shelton, Rarmian Newton, Ted Sutherland, Amy Forsyth, Casey W. Johnson, and Taylor Richardson also star.

For the People (ABC, Tuesday 10pm)

Shondaland and workplace drama go hand in hand, so it’s no surprise that ABC’s newest series — helmed by Scandal’s writer Paul William Davies, with Shonda Rhimes herself as executive producer — has been described as a legal version of Grey’s Anatomy. Set in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (aka ‘The Mother Court’), For the People follows six talented young lawyers working on opposite sides of the law, as they handle the most high-profile and high-stakes federal cases in the country. Britt Robertson, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Wesam Keesh, Ben Rappaport, Regé-Jean Page, and Susannah Flood star as the budding public defenders and prosecutors, while Hope Davis, Ben Shenkman, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and Anna Deavere Smith play their superiors.

Take Your Pills (Netflix, Friday)

On the heels of their Oscar win for Best Documentary Feature with the Russian Olympic doping scheme exposé Icarus, Netflix tackles once again the opioid crisis and the highs and lows of performance-enhancing drugs.Take Your Pills examines how in a world that moves at the hectic rate of a Daft Punk song, prescription drugs like Adderall offer college students, Silicon Valley coders, and athletes alike, a way to do more — harder, better, faster, stronger — while also pondering the human costs incurred in the name of productivity. Directed by Alison Klayman (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry) and produced by the minds behind Oscar-nominated docs Abacus: Small Enough to Jail and Life, Animated, Take Your Pills arrives on Netflix right after debuting at SXSW.

Wild Wild Country (Netflix, Friday)

If the drama Waco left a bad taste in your mouth, Netflix’s latest documentary series about an obscure episode in the history of 20th century cults might be the palette cleanser you needed. What started when controversial guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh bought 64,000 acres in the Oregon desert to build a utopian city for his followers, much to the discontent of the residents of neighboring town Antelope, gradually snowballed into years of conflict over land use, assassination attempts, and the largest-ever biochemical terrorist attack on US soil. Combining interviews with residents from both sides and archival footage, Wild Wild Country unravels the escalating chain of events of this often overlooked, yet contemporary relevant bit of American history. Chapman and Maclain Way (The Battered Bastards of Baseball) direct the six-episode series, and Mark and Jay Duplass figure as executive producers. Fair warning: you’re probably going to wind up binge-watching.  

Beyond the Opposite Sex (Showtime, Friday 9pm)

Gather around children, I’m going to tell you a story about the old days. In 2004, Showtime debuted The Opposite Sex: two parallel documentaries that followed Rene and Jamie, two transgender adults, before, during, and shortly after undergoing gender affirmation surgery, while also exploring the impact of gender transition on their families and friends. Now, 14 years later, director Emily Abt picks up where original documentarian Josh Aronson left off. We find Jamie (formerly Jim, a macho man raising a 12-year-old daughter) now as a sensitive singer/songwriter and Trump supporter living in Kentucky with her girlfriend. Meanwhile, since transitioning, the spirited Texan Rene has started a new relationship. However, the surgeries that used to be lifelong goals, turned out to be only the beginning of a whole new journey. Beyond The Opposite Sex is a timely look at the transgender experience.

For The People

SUNDAY

Bob’s Burgers S8E9 “Y Tu Ga-Ga Tambien” (FOX, 7:30pm)

American Idol S16E1 (ABC, 8pm) – season premiere

Counterpart S1E8 “Love the Lie” (Starz, 8pm)

iHeartRadio Music Awards (TBS/TNT/truTV, 8pm ) – live event

Our Cartoon President S1E6 “Media Strategy” (Showtime, 8pm)

American Dynasties: The Kennedys S1E1 (CNN, 9pm) – series premiere  

Ash vs. Evil Dead S3E3 “Apparently Dead” (Starz, 9pm)

The Walking Dead S8E11 “Dead or Alive Or” (AMC, 9pm)

Victoria S2SE “Comfort and Joy” (PBS, 9pm)

Deception S1E1 (ABC, 10pm) – series premiere

Pope: The Most Powerful Man in History S1E1 (CNN, 10pm) – series premiere

The Chi S1E9 “Namaste Muthafucka” (Showtime, 10pm)

MONDAY

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow S3E14 “Amazing Grace” (The CW, 8pm)

Lucifer S3E17 “Let Pinhead Sing!” (FOX, 8pm)

The Alienist S1E8 “Psychopathia Sexualis” (TNT, 9pm)

Living Bibically S1E3 “Love Thy Neighbor” (CBS, 9:30pm)

Good Girls S1E3 “Borderline” (NBC, 10pm)

The Good Doctor S1E16 “Pain” (ABC, 10pm)

TUESDAY

Ricky Gervais: Humanity (Netflix) – comedy special

NCIS S15E17 “One Man’s Trash” (CBS, 8pm)

The Flash S4E16 “Run, Iris, Run” (The CW, 8pm)

Black Lightning S1E8 “The Book of Revelations” (The CW, 9pm)

LA to Vegas S1E8 “Parking Lot B” (Fox, 9pm)

This Is Us S2E18 “The Wedding” (NBC, 9pm) – season finale

Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. S1E3 “The Mack” (USA, 10pm)

For the People S1E1 (ABC, 10pm) – series premiere

Rise S1E1 (NBC, 10pm) – series premiere

WEDNESDAY

The Looming Tower S1E5 “Y2K” (Hulu)

The Blacklist S5E16 “The Capricorn Killer” (NBC, 8pm)

The X-Files S11E9 “Nothing Lasts Forever” (FOX, 8pm)

Riverdale S2E15 “Chapter Twenty-Eight: There Will Be Blood” (The CW, 8pm)

Speechless S2E16&E17 “One A-n-Angry M-Maya” & “A-c-Action” (ABC, 8:30pm)

9-1-1 S1E9 “Trapped” (Fox, 9pm)

Law & Order: SVU S19E16 “Dare” (NBC, 9pm)

Channel Zero: Butcher’s Block S3E6 “Sacrifice Zone” (Syfy, 10pm) – season finale

Criminal Minds S13E16 “Last Gasp” (CBS, 10pm)

Designated Survivor S2E13 “Original Sin” (ABC, 10pm)

Hap and Leonard S3E2 “Ho-Ho Mambo” (Sundance, 10pm)

The Assassination of Gianni Versace S2E8 “Creator / Destroyer” (FX, 10pm)

Back S1E2 (Sundance, 11pm)

THURSDAY

Tabula Rasa S1 (Netflix) – series American premiere

Gotham S4E14 “Reunion” (FOX, 8pm)

Grey’s Anatomy S14E15 “Old Scars, Future Hearts” (ABC, 8pm)

RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars S3E8 (VH1, 8pm) – season finale

Superstore S3E15 “Amnesty” (NBC, 8pm)

Project Runway All-Stars S6E10 (Lifetime, 9pm)

Scandal S7E14 “The List” (ABC, 9pm)

Will & Grace S9E14 “The Beefcake & the Cake Beef” (NBC, 9pm)

Atlanta S2E3 “Money Bag Shawty” (FX, 10pm)

How to Get Away With Murder S4E15 “Nobody Else Is Dying” (ABC, 10pm) – season finale

Portlandia S8E9 “Long Way Back” (IFC, 10pm)

FRIDAY

Benji (Netflix) – movie premiere

Striking Out S2 (Acorn TV) – season premiere

Take Your Pills (Netflix) – documentary premiere

Wild Wild Country S1 (Netflix) – documentary series premiere

Once Upon a Time S7E13 “Knightfall” (ABC, 8pm)

Beyond the Opposite Sex (Showtime, 9pm) – documentary premiere

Jane The Virgin S4E13 “Chapter Seventy-Seven” (The CW, 9pm)

SATURDAY

The Beguiled (HBO, 10pm) – movie cable premiere

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