Why Watch That Radio: For the Culture Part2, TV Talk and Off the Cuff.

For the Culture: Why Watch That’s Recommendations for Black History Month, Part II

TV SHOWS

The Offbeat Humor: Atlanta

Atlanta is one of the top cities for young rappers looking to make a name for themselves in the business. Among those up-and-comers is Alfred Miles, a hot new artist who is trying to understand the line between real life and street life. He is managed by his cousin, Earn, who gets caught up in the local rap scene and his cousin's career after returning home to the ATL. Earn does whatever he can to try to get Alfred's career to the next level. Darius, the rapper's right-hand man and visionary, is also in Alfred's entourage. When Earn isn't busy managing his cousin's career, he spends much of his time with best friend Vanessa, who is also the mother of his daughter.

Network’’s Finest: Black-ish

Dre Johnson (Anthony Anderson) has it all - a great job, beautiful wife Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross), four kids and a big home in a classy neighbourhood - but as a black man, he begins to question whether all his success has brought too much cultural assimilation for his family. With the help of his father (special guest star Laurence Fishburne), Dre begins to try to create a sense of ethnic identity for the members of his family that will allow them to honour their background while preparing them to embrace the future.

Cable’s Finest: Insecure

Modern-day black women might be described as strong and confident; in other words, just the opposite of Issa and Molly. As the best friends deal with their own real-life flaws, their insecurities come to the fore as together they cope with an endless series of uncomfortable everyday experiences. Created by co-star Issa Rae and writer/comic Larry Wilmore ("The Daily Show With Jon Stewart"), the comedy series looks at the friendship of two black women in a unique, authentic way. It features the music of both indie and established artists of color, and touches on a variety of social and racial issues that relate to the contemporary black experience.

True Detective (S3)

Season 3 of "True Detective" plays out in three separate time periods, telling the story of the 1980 disappearance of a young Arkansas boy and his sister, and a mystery that deepens over decades. Oscar winner Mahershala Ali stars as state police detective Wayne Hays, who recalls the days and weeks immediately following the crime, as well as developments in 1990, when he and his former partner, Roland West, were subpoenaed after a major break in the case. What started as a routine investigation becomes a long journey to dissect and make sense of the crime.

Gen Z’s Take: Grown-ish

The Johnson family's eldest daughter is taking her first steps into the real world as she heads off to college. "Grown-ish" explores the first trappings of adulthood, and Zoey must navigate through the trials and tribulations of these momentous steps. Zoey discovers that once she leaves the nest, things do not always go her way. The series features "that in between place where you're not quite an adult but facing grown world problems for the first time," Kenya Barris, the show's creator and executive producer, said.

The True Crime Drama: American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ

This dramatization traces the twists and turns of O.J. Simpson's murder trial, examining behind-the-scenes gambits on both sides of the court.

The Guilty Pleasure: Empire

Hip-hop artist and CEO of Empire Entertainment, Lucious Lyon, has always ruled unchallenged, but a medical diagnosis predicts he will be incapacitated in three years, which prompts the sharks to circle. Without further damaging his family, he must decide which of his three sons will take over. His favorite, young Hakeem, is a gifted musician but values fame over hard work. Middle son, Jamal, is talented and shy but gay -- embarrassing to Lyon. The oldest, Andre, is business-minded but lacks charisma. The reappearance of Cookie, his ex-wife, complicates things; she says he owes her for taking the fall for the drug-running that financed his early career.

Scandal

"Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes is the creative mind behind this ABC drama. Olivia Pope, a former media consultant to the president, is ready to move on with her life and opens her own crisis-management firm, but she can't seem to shake ties with her past. Olivia's staff includes Quinn Perkins, who has a complicated history, and hacker extraordinaire Huck. As she moves forward it becomes clear that, while her staffers may specialize in cleaning up the lives of other people, they can't seem to do the same for themselves.

The Reboot: She’s Gotta Have It

Beautiful Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns) can't decide what kind of man she wants to date, so she decides to date three at the same time. The first is Greer Childs (John Canada Terrell), a rich, handsome narcissist. Then there's Jamie Overstreet (Tommy Redmond Hicks), a stable, overprotective alpha male. Finally, there's Mars Blackmon (Spike Lee), a timid geek with a heart of gold. Unfortunately, while each suitor has his virtues, Darling just can't seem to make up her mind.

The Throwback: A Different World

Denise Huxtable is in "a different world" -- predominantly black Hillman College -- in this popular "Cosby Show" spinoff. A sophomore, Denise shares her quarters with divorced freshman Jaleesa and naive Maggie, one of Hillman's few white students. Other Hillman students include Whitley, a Southern belle full of attitude; Dwayne, a math major, and his best friend, Ron; and Col. Taylor, aka "Dr. War."

TV Talk

Series Premieres

American Soul (BET)

The rise and fall of impresario Don Cornelius, who created the dance show "Soul Train," against the backdrop of an unforgiving Hollywood in the 1970s.

PEN15 (Hulu)

Comics Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle play versions of themselves as 13-year-old outcasts in middle school in the year 2000, surrounded by actual 13-year-olds.

White Dragon (Amazon)

Professor Jonah Mulray's life is turned upside down when he discovers his wife, Megan Harris, has been killed in a car-crash in Hong Kong.

TV Movie Premiere

High Flying Bird (Netflix)

A sports agent pitches a controversial business opportunity to a rookie basketball player during a lockout.

Mid-Season Premiere

The Walking Dead (AMC)

Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman, this gritty drama portrays life in the months and years that follow a zombie apocalypse. Led by former police officer Rick Grimes, his family and a group of other survivors find themselves constantly on the move in search of a safe and secure home. But the pressure each day to stay alive sends many in the group to the deepest depths of human cruelty, and Rick discovers that the overwhelming fear of the survivors can be more deadly than the zombies walking among them.

TV Sneak Peek

Boomerang (BET)

Boomerang is an upcoming American comedy television series, based on the film of the same name written by Barry W. Blaustein and David Sheffield, that is set to premiere on February 12, 2019, on BET. Wikipedia

Off the Cuff: The Critic Catches Up

First Reformed

The pastor of a small church in upstate New York spirals out of control after a soul-shaking encounter with an unstable environmental activist and his pregnant wife.

Incredibles 2

Everyone’s favorite family of superheroes is back in “Incredibles 2” – but this time Helen (voice of Holly Hunter) is in the spotlight, leaving Bob (voice of Craig T. Nelson) at home with Violet (voice of Sarah Vowell) and Dash (voice of Huck Milner) to navigate the day-to-day heroics of “normal” life. It’s a tough transistion for everyone, made tougher by the fact that the family is still unaware of baby Jack-Jack’s emerging superpowers. When a new villain hatches a brilliant and dangerous plot, the family and Frozone (voice of Samuel L. Jackson) must find a way to work together again—which is easier said than done, even when they’re all Incredible.

Hereditary

When the matriarch of the Graham family passes away, her daughter and grandchildren begin to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry, trying to outrun the sinister fate they have inherited.

Annihilation

Based on Jeff VanderMeer’s best-selling Southern Reach Trilogy, Annihilation stars Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny and Oscar Isaac. It was written and directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina, 28 Days Later).

BlacKkKlansman

From visionary filmmaker Spike Lee comes the incredible true story of an American hero. It’s the early 1970s, and Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) is the first African-American detective to serve in the Colorado Springs Police Department. Determined to make a name for himself, Stallworth bravely sets out on a dangerous mission: infiltrate and expose the Ku Klux Klan. The young detective soon recruits a more seasoned colleague, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), into the undercover investigation of a lifetime. Together, they team up to take down the extremist hate group as the organization aims to sanitize its violent rhetoric to appeal to the mainstream. Produced by the team behind the Academy-Award® winning Get Out.

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