In the middle of all this scorching weather, watching documentaries may sound a bit like volunteering for homework over summer vacation, but this week brings several intriguing and entertaining docs worth getting serious for. And when you’re done, two splashy and even silly new scripted series will lighten the mood.
What to watch
First up is “Two American Families” on “Frontline” (PBS, Tuesday). If that sounds familiar, that’s because you may have seen much of this story more than a decade ago. Back in 2013, PBS aired a 90-minute documentary hosted by Bill Moyers that had taken 20 years to make — the filmmakers followed two hard-working families in Milwaukee, one Black and one white, over two decades of success and struggle.
The film examined the decline of the middle class and the struggle of the Neumann and Stanley clans as they worry over home payments, jobs, health insurance, and the world that awaits their children. The new version adds another half hour to their saga, updating us on their joys and tribulations over the last 10 years, through the rise of social media and automation, the turmoil of the Trump presidency, and, of course, the pandemic.
Next comes NOVA’s “Sea Change” (PBS, Wednesday), a three-part docuseries that’s part of PBS’s year-long deep dive into programming about ocean (and freshwater) science in a rapidly worsening environment. The slate so far has included “Nature: Patrick and the Whale,” “Independent Lens: One with the Whale,” “Changing Planet: Coral Special,” and “Hope in the Water.”
“Sea Change” takes place close to home, focusing on the Gulf of Maine. While the Gulf is now warming faster than 97 percent of the world’s oceans, endangering the 3000 species of wildlife living in these waters and the New Englanders who make their living off of them, the series is looking at solutions more than just sounding the doomsday bell. It explores climate resilience and adaptation ideas from both scholars and Indigenous peoples as well as scientists’ tracking the changes and entrepreneurs seeking new ways to make a living from the sea.
Back on land, there’s a story that’s as quintessentially American as the “Two American Families” film, a four-hour docuseries on the epic rise and fall of baseball legend Pete Rose. “Charlie Hustle & The Matter of Pete Rose” (HBO, Wednesday) goes through Rose’s record-setting career, his excommunication from the sport over gambling charges, and his life in the years since as he tries one last time to get back in the game . . . and into the Hall of Fame.
If all that heavy lifting leaves you thirsting for adventure and a smile . . . and something you can even watch with your kids, it’s time for “Time Bandits” (Apple TV+, Wednesday). This series, a re-imagining of the 1981 movie from Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin, mixes deadpan delivery (especially from the always-fabulous Lisa Kudrow) with wild set pieces executed on a much bigger budget than in the original. This fantastical yarn is a rollicking romp, to toss around the kind of words you might encounter if you traveled back with these bandits to times filled with more feel-good family adventures.
Or you can just travel straight back to 14th-century Italy, to seek laughs among the plague on “The Decameron” (Netflix, Thursday) with a cast featuring a fun mix of less familiar faces with fan favorites from shows like “Veep” (Tony Hale), “Derry Girls” (Saoirse-Monice Jackson), “Sex Education” (Tanya Reynolds), and “Girls” (Zosia Mamet). After an ingenious animated opening credit sequence riddled with rats, the show opens in pestilence-filled Florence, with a bit too much chaos and pus-filled make-up. But then it settles into the countryside, showing potential with a mix of drama, farce, class satire and rom-com vibes, making it worth at least checking out beyond the first episode.
Around the dial
“61st Street” — This drama about race and corruption in Chicago’s criminal justice system is back from the dead. Canceled by AMC after one season, it has been given new life by The CW. Monday.
“Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart & Kenan Thompson” — If you like Olympic sports but find there’s too much pomp you may prefer the insouciance of these two comics as they wisecrack their way through the highlights along with interviews and straight-up silliness. There will be eight episodes over the course of the Games. Peacock, Friday.
Memorable movies leaving at the end of July
Hulu
“Cast Away”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“Once Upon a Time in America”
“The Royal Tenenbaums”
“Rushmore”
“Sideways”
Netflix
“American Graffiti”
“Born on the Fourth of July”
“King Richard”
“Knocked Up”
“Moneyball”
“The Matrix”
“Traffic”
MAX
“A Most Violent Year”
“Bonnie and Clyde”
“Ex Machina”
“Fargo”
“The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!”
“Network”