TV picks for Oct. 18-20: 'Watchmen,' 'Grammy Legends,' 'Sid & Judy,' 'Living With Yourself'

October 17, 2019 at 9:21PM
Eric Liebowitz/Netflix
Paul Rudd and Aisling Bea in "Living With Yourself."
Paul Rudd and Aisling Bea in “Living With Yourself.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

What friends are for

Minneapolis native Jimmy Jam presents Valerie Simpson and the late Nickolas Ashford with Lifetime Achievement Awards during "Grammy Salute to Music Legends," a performance-heavy ceremony that includes Johnny Mathis crooning "Walk on By" for Dionne Warwick and Garth Brooks teaming up with inductee Sam Moore on "Soul Man." But it's honoree George Clinton who brings the house down with more than a little help from a funkadelic Snoop Dogg.

9 p.m. Friday, TPT, Ch. 2

Under the rainbow

"Sid & Judy" goes even further than the Renée Zellweger-starring biopic to trace the downfall of Judy Garland, but documentarian Stephen Kijak also inserts excerpts from her short-lived TV show to prove that, even in troubled times, the Minnesota legend could still be spectacular. The archival footage is so strong that narration from Jennifer Jason Leigh as Garland and Jon Hamm as third husband Sid Luft feels like a gimmick.

7 p.m. Friday, Showtime

Simply super

"Watchmen" is only loosely based on the DC comic books and the 2009 feature film, setting its own perverse path with Oscar winner Regina King channeling Black Panther, Don Johnson nailing a tune from "Oklahoma!" and Robert Redford playing — President Robert Redford. Like superhero sagas with a heart of darkness? You gotta watch, man.

8 p.m. Sunday, HBO

Faceoff

Paul Rudd does double duty in "Living With Yourself," an unpredictable new dramedy about a sad-sack advertising executive who may lose his wife (Aisling Bea) to his peppier 2.0 version, manufactured in a strip mall. Rudd offers a master class in subtle acting, differentiating his competing characters with the teeniest adjustments in posture and turns of the mouth, but the eight-part series works only because Bea is so properly flustered by a bizarre version of "The Dating Game."

Now streaming on Netflix

Neal Justin

(L-R): Sid Luft, Judy Garland and Joey Luft in SID & JUDY. Photo Credit: Courtesy of SHOWTIME.
From left, Sid Luft, Judy Garland and Joey Luft in “Sid & Judy.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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