TV to watch while stuck at home: 'Bad Education,' 'Too Hot to Handle,' 'Dragnificent,' more

April 18, 2020 at 4:41AM
Dr. Jane Goodall posing with members of Roots & Shoots, a program of the Jane Goodall Institute. National Geographic's JANE GOODALL: THE HOPE picks up where JANE (2017) left off, following Jane Goodall through three generations of advocacy work as she meets with everyone from schoolchildren in Zanzibar to Prince Harry and spreads a message of hope in a time of immense environmental change. (National Geographic/Bill Wallauer)
Jane Goodall is at the center of “The Hope.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Temptation island

If you're a little ashamed that you're hooked on "Love Is Blind," you'll definitely want to keep your passion for "Too Hot to Handle" a secret. In this soft-core version of the dating game, gorgeous contestants stand to win a big cash prize, but only if they keep their hands off each other. Making the challenge even harder is that each of the participating singles appears to be a borderline sex addict. Go ahead and check it out. I won't tell.

Now streaming on Netflix

Bachelorette party

"Dragnificent!" borrows a page from the "Queer Eye" playbook with four drag queens, including former Minneapolis performer BeBe Zahara Benet, swooping in to counsel nervous brides-to-be. In the first episode, the quartet is better at delivering sass than sound advice, but they make up for their shortcomings with a hip-shaking performance at the wedding reception.

10 p.m. Sunday, TLC

Just the two of us

Long-form improv is comedy's high-wire act, but the stars of "Middleditch & Schwartz" make it look like a cakewalk. Thomas Middleditch ("Silicon Valley") and Ben Schwartz ("Parks and Recreation") follow the traditional formula of riffing off an audience suggestion, but the fact that they do it without any other cast members — and for more than 40 minutes in each episode — is as impressive as any David Blaine card trick.

Starts streaming Tuesday on Netflix

Hope floats

The best way to absolve yourself from the sin of loving "Tiger King" is watching "Jane Goodall: The Hope," an unofficial sequel to 2017's "Jane." While that earlier movie focused on the primatologist's early years with chimpanzees, this documentary centers on how she has dealt with humans, who turn out to be slightly more difficult to read. Watching the 86-year-old maintain her hectic speaking schedule helps explain why she remains an international treasure, and why she enjoys so many tumblers of whiskey.

8 p.m. Wednesday, National Geographic

Head of the class

If the pandemic keeps Hugh Jackman from playing Harold Hill on Broadway this fall, he can still cross playing a charming con man off his to-do list. Jackman is brilliant in "Bad Education," a docudrama about the biggest theft in school history. He plays a superintendent whose ability to motivate students is topped only by his vanity and greed. Oscar winner Allison Janney offers an equally impressive lesson in acting as his partner in white-collar crime.

7 p.m. Saturday, HBO

Neal Justin


JoJo Whilden/HBO
Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney in "Bad Education."
Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney star in “Bad Education.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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