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Neal Justin's TV picks for Oct. 16 – 'Why Bridges Collapse,' 'Limetown,' 'The Birch,' 'Little Monsters'

By Neal Justin

October 15, 2019 at 9:23PM

The Morandi highway bridge in Genoa, Italy, collapsed in 2018. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

End of the road

"Why Bridges Collapse" focuses largely on the 2018 disaster in Genoa, Italy, that claimed 63 lives. But roughly three minutes of the one-hour "Nova" documentary zeros in on the 2007 tragedy in Minneapolis with input from survivor Kelly Kahle and the Minnesota Historical Society's Sondra Reierson. Even more than a decade later, the footage and memories remain chilling.

8 p.m. TPT, Ch. 2

Ghost town

What's so unbelievable about the Facebook Watch series "Limetown" isn't that more than 300 people vanished overnight, but that the media quickly got bored of reporting the details and moved on. Thank goodness for Jessica Biel's intrepid podcaster, who uses her press badge to go in search of a great story, as well as her missing uncle (Stanley Tucci). Also new to the streaming service: "The Birch," in which a bullied teenager uses her power over plants to get revenge.

Now streaming on Facebook Watch

Swift kicks

Lupita Nyong'o is so winning as a kindergarten teacher determined to save her class from Australian zombies in "Little Monsters" that she even pulls off plucking Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" on a ukulele. An unnecessary romantic story line almost ruins the stupid fun, but the Oscar winner's performance and Josh Gad's hilarious take on a self-serving clown save the day.

Now streaming on Hulu

Neal Justin

Jessica Biel stars in “Limetown.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Lupita Nyong’o plays a teacher who must protect the children from a zombie outbreak. in “Little Monsters.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

about the writer

Neal Justin

Critic / Reporter

Neal Justin is the pop-culture critic, covering how Minnesotans spend their entertainment time. He also reviews stand-up comedy. Justin previously served as TV and music critic for the paper. He is the co-founder of JCamp, a non-profit program for high-school journalists, and works on many fronts to further diversity in newsrooms.