5 Best Bets on TV This Week: Josh Fox Revisits ‘Gasland,’ FX Crosses ‘The Bridge’ and Netflix Goes to Jail
Sure, Sunday tends to be overcrowded with high-end TV, including “True Blood,” the returning-this-week “The Newsroom,” “Copper,” “Dexter,” “Ray Donovan” and more, but what to watch the rest of the time? Every Monday, we bring you five noteworthy highlights from the other six days of the week.
“Gasland: Part II”: Broadcast Premiere
Monday, July 8 at 9pm on HBO
Josh Fox follows up his Oscar-nominated 2011 documentary about fracking with a sequel that revisits some of the people and areas focused on in the first film, exploring whether natural gas can ever really be harvested safely by hydraulic fracturing and getting the director arrested in the process. Reviewing the film at its premiere at Tribeca earlier this year, Eric Kohn wrote that “although overly dense and at times unfocused, [it] successfully continues Fox’s crusade against the ill effects of natural gas.”
“Drunk History”: Series Premiere
Tuesday, July 9 at 10pm on Comedy Central
Funny or Die web franchise “Drunk History” makes the leap to television this week, kicking off with a Washington, D.C.-set episode that pairs sloshed narrators with celebrity-filled reenactments that don’t always unfold with Ken Burns-worthy precision. The series comes from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s Gary Sanchez Productions.
“The Bridge”: Series Premiere
Wednesday, July 10 at 10pm on FX
The newest drama from FX is an adaptation of an acclaimed Danish/Swedish crime series that moves the action to the US/Mexico border. Demián Bichir and Diane Kruger star as the detectives from Juárez and El Paso paired up to investigate a string of murders committed by a serial killer intent on moving between the countries. Will “The Bridge” live up to the high standards for originals set by the network? Check out our review here.
“Orange is the New Black”: Premiere
Thursday, July 11 at 12:01am PT on Netflix
Netflix’s first female-led series comes from “Weeds” creator Jenji Kohan and stars Taylor Schilling as a thirtysomething woman whose comfortable life in Brooklyn with her fiance (Jason Biggs) and her artisanal soapmaking business is interrupted by a 15-month prison sentence for a crime she committed a decade before. The series has been attracting a lot of praise — including some from us. Check out Indiewire’s review here.
“Sharknado”: Broadcast Premiere
Thursday, July 11 at 9pm on Syfy
Syfy’s latest original movie may have the best terrible title and premise in the network’s history. Tara Reid and Ian Ziering star in this The Asylum-produced scientifically accurate saga about a tornado sucking sharks out of the ocean and hurling them through the streets of Los Angeles.
Also worth a look: Transmedia series “Defiance” wraps up its successful first season on Syfy on Monday, July 8th at 9pm; Chris O’Dowd-created semi-autobiographical series “Moone Boy” premieres in the U.S. on Hulu July 10th; “Six Feet Under” and “Brothers & Sisters” star Rachel Griffiths returns to the small screen with NBC summer series “Camp,” in which she plays a divorced camp director looking for a fresh start, on Wednesday, July 10th at 10pm; Scott Aukerman’s talk show spoot “Comedy Bang! Bang!” returns for a 20-episode second season on IFC on Friday, July 12th at 10pm.
