FRIDAY, AUGUST 29
MANDATORY VIEWING OF THE WEEK
Real Time with Bill Maher (Season Premiere) — 11/10c on HBO
Most people either love Bill Maher or are repulsed by him, with no gray area–and yet his polarization is more complicated than Democrat-vs.-Republican. But if you happen to be a Maher-tyr, then the sixth-season premiere of Real Time is clearly mandatory, especially with the Democratic National Convention having wrapped the night before. Maher will not be shy–or politically correct, of course–when it comes to his opinions on the DNC and the upcoming election, and after suffering through three nights of predictable coverage (except for The Daily Show), R-rated irreverence is just what we need.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 30
For the Love of Grace — 9/8c on Hallmark
If you insist on watching TV tonight, Hallmark might be your best bet–six words I never thought I’d say! It’s not that For the Love of Grace is a must-see, of course, but rather due to a lack of other options. Mark Consuelos (a.k.a. Mr. Kelly Ripa) stars as a recently widowed firefighter who rescues a workaholic author named Grace (Chandra West), who rescues him back. Get it? Yeah, you may just wanna read tonight.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 31
SEASON TWO MINI-MARATHON
Mad Men — 5/4c-11/10c on AMC
Lest those of us who’ve missed an episode decide to throw in the towel for season two, the folks at AMC give us a chance to play catch-up by re-airing all episodes to this point. The mini-marathon culminates with a new episode that centers on Don (Jon Hamm) and Duck (Mark Moses) trying to make peace at Sterling Cooper.
ALSO…
Brooke Knows Best — 10/9c on VH1
Brooke (Hogan, for the many sensible people out there who haven’t been watching) auctions herself off as a prom date to help raise money for girls who can’t afford prom dresses. So…clearly those girls shouldn’t get their hopes up.
