What our TV critic is watching in quarantine: 'Hollywood,' 'Upload,' George W. Bush and Natalie Wood documentaries

May 2, 2020 at 4:39AM
Mary Winchenbach in the new TruTV reality series "Tirdy Works."
Mary Winchenbach in the new TruTV reality series “Tirdy Works.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Better off dead

Greg Daniels, who produced "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation," has set his latest sitcom, "Upload," in the digital afterlife, where living forever turns out to be less than heavenly. It's like a bonus season of "Black Mirror," but with more laughs.

Now streaming on Amazon Prime

Get me rewrite

"Hollywood" reimagines the Golden Age of cinema in an alternative universe where gays, women and minorities force their way into the spotlight. Movie buffs will enjoy watching how legends like Rock Hudson and Vivien Leigh mix in with the fictional characters, but co-creator Ryan Murphy fails to bring his usual flair to what should at least have an element of campy fun. It's a well-meaning project without any glee.

Now streaming on Netflix

Mission accomplished

"George W. Bush: American Experience" manages to paint a fairly detailed portrait of the 43rd president, despite the lack of cooperation from his administration's most powerful players. Throughout the four-hour documentary, Bush comes across as a leader who was smart and well intentioned, but also naive and Pollyanna­ish, especially when it came to dealing with the Middle East.

8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, TPT, Ch. 2

Giving a crap

Let's hope "Tirdy Works" is a hit, if only so Kate McKinnon can work up an impersonation of the reality series' star Mary Winchenbach, an artist who works exclusively with animal droppings. The puns are excruciating (anyone wanna poo-poo clock?), but you'll fall in love with Winchenbach and the other residents of Somerville, Maine, where the humor is as brutal as the winters.

9 p.m. Tuesday, TruTV

The searcher

"Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind" vows to focus on the actor's spectacular career rather than her untimely death, with insight from famous friends including Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. But daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner, a producer on the project, keeps coming back to the 1981 drowning, primarily so she can defend her stepfather Robert Wagner, who some believe hasn't been completely forthcoming about what happened on their boat that fateful night.

8 p.m. Tuesday, HBO

about the writer

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.

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