Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Friday, February 12th, 2021

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, February 12th, 2021. I'm writing this from the Twin Cities suburbs, where AllYourScreens HQ is powered by the thought of a relaxing weekend.

Just a reminder for new subscribers. Friday newsletters tend to be on the shorter side. In part because Fridays tend to be a big day for new releases. Also...it's Friday.

DAVE CHAPPELLE IS A BIT OF A TOOL
The entertainment world has its share of talented people who tend to first-class jerks in real life. And while I've never met the guy, I've heard enough stories to put comic Dave Chappelle in that category. Yes, The Dave Chappelle Show is genius and he has done some great stand-up work since then. But he's also a performer who has slowly developed this weird cognitive dissonance to his act. He spends a lot of time reassuring the audience that he is still cutting-edge and relevant while simultaneously complaining about the "cancel culture" that won't let comics like him say what they want to say. Which is a weird complaint from a comic who has a string of Netflix specials that provide him with a worldwide audience. But maybe that's just me.

Chappelle announced on his Instagram feed late Thursday that will give him the rights back to his Comedy Central show, which will return soon to Netflix. Normally, I would focus on that story, but if you want to know more about that, this Hollywood Reporter story covers it pretty well.

I'm more interested in discussing this piece in Consequence Of Sound, which does a pretty good job of letting Chappelle both have his say and show off his asshattery. Chapelle has been doing a comedy tour and his essential attitude has been "well, you can wear a mask during the show if you want. But I'm not living in fear, so you be you." There have been lots of photos of him and other comics hanging over audience members and fans maskless and partying unmaskeless after the show. Not surprisingly, Chappelle and a number of the other comics on the tour caught COVID-19. But if you thought that might make him second-guess his decision to tour during a pandemic. Well, dream on:

"You may have seen in the news that I caught coronavirus recently, and I did. Oops! I did. Because in the beginning of the pandemic, I talked to a guy in the live entertainment business and I said, ‘When can we go back to work?’ He said, ‘Probably sometime in 2022.’ And I said, ‘There’s no fucking way I can wait that long.’ And I just tried to find a way to work."

"And after all these months doing these shows, goddamnit — my number was up and then I had the rona." Cowards rejoice in a time like this because they’re so invested in being afraid. When I said I had the coronavirus, the overwhelming majority of people wished me well. But there was a faction of people, the cowards, who said, ‘You see that, Dave Chappelle? That’s why we stay inside where it’s safe, and we never try anything.’ Well, enjoy yourselves motherfuckers, because I’m better now."

Aside from the casual jerk-like comments from Chappelle, one of my issues with his attitude is that he doesn't appear to care much about the staffs of these club or theaters where he is performing. If they get sick, that's their bad luck. Chappelle still gets to make his money and be a star. As someone who did stand-up for well over a decade, I understand the emptyness that can come from being forced to stay away from the stage. But Chappelle could wait until later in the year to do live shows. Unlike a lot of road comics, he doesn't rely on those live shows to pay the bills. 

Doing a series of live shows now is just selfish. And maybe it's because 2020 was a long year. But I find myself not having a great deal of patience for someone who does things just because no one has the power to tell them "no." 

TODAY'S PREMIERES

1) Are You Afraid Of The Dark? Reboot Series Premiere (Nickelodeon)
Season two follows a Midnight Society group of kids who learn of the terrifying curse cast over their small seaside town and are haunted by a mysterious creature known as the Shadowman. 

2) Buried By The Bernards Series Premiere (Netflix)
In 2017, Ryan Bernard opened the doors to R Bernard Funeral Services, offering complete, yet affordable funeral packages to help his community deal with exponentially high funeral costs. With family dra-medy at the center, the family-owned and operated businessprovides their community top tier care, service and comfort with a side of laughter in the toughest of times. In this line of work, the Bernards can't neglect supporting each other and have their own special recipe for preserving their relationships - it's one part understanding, a pinch of sarcasm, and a heaping spoonful of blatant honesty. This unorthodox funeral home is only outmatched by the unconventional Bernard family themselves. 

3) Clifford Season Premiere (Amazon)
He's a really big red dog. And he's back.

4) Dead Pigs (Mubi)
The fates of an unlucky pig farmer, a feisty home-owner defending her property, a lovestruck busboy, a disenchanted rich girl, and an American expat pursuing the Chinese Dream converge and collide as thousands of dead pigs are found floating down the Huangpu River, towards a modernizing Shanghai.

5) Galentine's Day Nightmare (LMN)
It’s the day before Valentine’s, a time for all the single girls to celebrate being single. Though her career is on the upswing and she’s landed her dream job, Claire (Camille Stopps) can’t say the same for her personal life and decides a night on the town with her girlfriends is what she needs. When she meets Brian (Anthony Grant) she thinks she may have found the one, but soon realizes that Brian is actually married to her boss. Now in a terrible predicament, Claire’s nightmare is only beginning when her boss is murdered and she becomes the prime suspect.

6) Hate By Dani Rovira (Netflix)
From the Soho Theater in Málaga, actor Dani Rovira presents his most honest, unfiltered and preposterous vision of today's human being.

7) Havana Street Party Presents: Beatriz Luengo (HBO Max)
The second installment of the hit HBO concert series “Havana Street Party Presents” features exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews, hits from “Cuerpo y Alma,” and reimagined versions of Ha*Ash’s “Ex de Verdad,” CD9’s “I Feel Alive,” Alejandra Guzmán’s “Quítatelo,” Ricky Martin’s “La Mordidita,” and Orishas’ “Sabor, Sabor.” Joining Beatriz on stage is a gospel choir, string quintet, live DJ, and fan-favorite guests Manuel Medrano, Farina, Blas Cantó, and Orishas.

8) Hip Hop Uncovered (FX)
This six-part series tells the five untold stories of Rap's most notorious kingmakers.

9) If I Can't Have You: The Jodi Arias Story (Discovery+)
When 30-year-old Alexander is found brutally murdered in his Mesa, Arizona home, police are shocked – who would have wanted to harm the popular salesman with no known enemies?  But soon, investigators receive a bizarre phone call that changes everything. The caller is Alexander’s mysterious ex-girlfriend – Jodi Arias. What happens next is too shocking to be real – but, it is. 

10) Into The Dark: Tentacles (Hulu)
In celebration of Valentine's Day, this month's installation is a psychosexual horror-thriller about a young Los Angeles couple Tara (Dana Drori) and Sam (Casey Deidrick) who fall head over heels into a new romance, entwining their lives — until their intimacy transforms into something terrifying.

11) Judas & The Black Messiah (HBO Max)
Bill O'Neal (Lakeith Stanfield) infiltrates the Black Panthers per FBI Agent Mitchell (Jesse Plemons) and J. Edgar Hoover (Martin Sheen). As Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) ascends, falling for a fellow revolutionary (Dominique Fishback) en route, a battle wages for O’Neal’s soul.

12) Nadiya Bakes Series Premiere (Netflix)
Delightful cakes and heavenly breads pop from the oven as Nadiya Hussain returns to baking, her happy place, and spotlights creative kindred spirits.

13) Saint Maud (Epix)
The debut film from writer-director Rose Glass, Saint Maud is a chilling and boldly original vision of faith, madness, and salvation in a fallen world. Maud, a newly devout hospice nurse, becomes obsessed with saving her dying patient's soul - but sinister forces, and her own sinful past, threaten to put an end to her holy calling.

14) The Map Of Tiny Perfect Things (Amazon)
Quick-witted teen Mark (Kyle Allen) is contentedly living the same day in an endless loop when his world is turned upside-down by the mysterious Margaret (Kathryn Newton), also stuck in the same loop.

15) To All The Boys: Always And Forever (Netflix)
It started with an old love letter — and turned into a new romance. What does the future hold for Lara Jean and Peter?

16) Unseamly: The Investigation of Peter Nygard (Discovery+)
Peter Nygård's was a true rags to riches story, as he built an international fashion empire. He was known in Canada as a playboy with a questionable reputation. But in the Bahamas, he became known for an infamous feud with his billionaire neighbor.

17) Xico's Journey (Netflix)
A girl, a dog and her best pal set out to save a mountain from a gold-hungry corporation. But the key lies closer to home, with her sidekick pup, Xico.

This newsletter is called "Too Much TV" because....well, it's hard to keep track of all the new television premiering everyday. To help you prioritize your viewing, click here to see our list of more than 400 upcoming television premieres, movies and finales. You'll find listings from more than 70 networks, as well as streaming services and web shows.

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I'll be back with another one on Monday. If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.