Seven Days of Television: June 9 to June 15
A select viewing guide to the next seven days of television
MONDAY JUNE 9 Hillary Clinton: Public and Private – One on One with Diane Sawyer (ABC, 9 p.m.) Can Hillary keep her cool? This interview between crinkly news doyenne Diane Sawyer and just recently ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been promoted by ABC like the Super Bowl in recent days. Based on short advance clips, the sitdown finds Ms. Clinton staying sly on whether she’s going for her husband’s former job in 2016. And since Sawyer is pretty forthright herself, she even pushes Hillary on the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal. Get back, girlfriend!
TUESDAY JUNE 10 Fargo (FXX, 10 p.m.) Only two more episodes of Fargo to go? Ah, geez. The small-screen version of the Oscar-winning feature film has been one of the nicest surprises of the current TV campaign, but after tonight and next week, it’s gone, you betcha. By now viewers are fully invested in the offbeat crime story starring Martin Freeman as the mousy insurance agent Lester, Billy Bob Thornton as a fearsome professional killer name Malvo and newcomer Allison Tolman as Molly, the cop slowly closing in on the pair’s murderous shenanigans. The show threw fans for a loop with last week’s one-year time jump that found Lester in the clear after murdering his wife and living the good life, while Molly got married to Gus (Colin Hanks) and is really pregnant. Then Lester spots Malvo. Dr. Michaelson I presume?
WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN, 9 p.m.) It’s good for all of us that Anthony Bourdain still has a huge appetite for haute cuisine and adventure. Now in its third season, the galloping gourmet appears to love his work in this series that takes his to far-off locales in search of unique food experiences. Tonight’s he’s in Bahia, aka the “African heart of Brazil, where he partakes of local delicacies and is schooled in the rarely-shared dance and martial art known as Capoeira. It’s a living.
THURSDAY JUNE 12 Hollywood Game Night (NBC, CTV Two, 8 p.m.) Tonight you could watch either World Cup soccer or you may feel obliged to take in the results of the Ontario election, but really, wouldn’t you rather watch this mindless piece of Hollywood filler? Hosted by the imposing and extremely loud Jane Lynch, the format pits two four-person teams of semi-famous people against each other in parlour games. Tonight’s guests include fashion maven Tim Gunn, Survivor host Jeff Probst and former Saved By the Bell star Tiffani Thiessen. She was Kelly Kapowski, people. Kelly Kapowski!
FRIDAY JUNE 13 Undercover Boss (CBS, CTV Two, 8 p.m.) Still the sneakiest darn show on primetime television, this U.S. spin on a popular British series still pulls in respectable ratings for CBS each Friday night. In tonight’s fifth-season outing, Travis Boersma, the president and co-founder of the Dutch Bros. Coffee company, flies down to El Salvador to assume a made-up job at the plantation from whence his beans come. Hidden-camera drama exploiting working-class people ensues.
SATURDAY JUNE 14 Sing Your Face Off (ABC, 9 p.m.) It’s still early, but this giddy talent contest in which sort-of-famous people attempt to replicate way-more famous people is already the leading contender for this summer’s tackiest reality show. In the past three weeks, viewers have seen comedian Jon Lovitz play Elton John, Billy Idol and Meatloaf, while actress Lisa Rinna has mugged her way through Katy Perry, Dolly Parton and Britney Spears. In tonight’s two-hour finale, the celebrity assignments include Madonna, Little Richard and M.C. Hammer. And as a bonus: Tom Arnold and Carmen Electra as guest-judges!
SUNDAY JUNE 15 2014 Much Music Video Awards (CTV, MuchMusic, 9 p.m.) It’s bound to smell like teen spirit on Queen Street tonight. Hosted this year by reality-sister duo Kendall and Kylie Jenner, the annual MMVA hoedown is always less an awards show and more like a great big loud high-school assembly. In the school parking lot. With really big-name artists. Guaranteed to get the kids screaming will be Imagine Dragons, Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande and Lorde, who will also supply fashion inspiration. Slated presenters include Chloe Grace Moretz, Kellan Lutz and that guy from Teen Wolf.