Sammy Younan
Girth Radio Presents…
More comic book tv shows and more NBA: truly we live in a tv age of wit and wonder.
Sunday, July 5
Sammy Suggestion: Outcry: Season 1 (10 p.m. / Showtime)
Social media terrifies me because people are comfortable destroying another person’s life and calling it justice. That is not justice. That is not inspiring. It’s a weird thing to normalize destroying another person’s life for a “just cause” yet so many of us comfortably do it. But…what if we’re wrong? And if we are wrong how do we undo all the damage we wrought? How do we get better at justice? Outcry is the five-part doc-series on high school football star Greg Kelley who was convicted of sexually assaulting a four-year-old boy and sentenced to 25 years in prison with no possibility for parole. Now if he’s guilty that’s great: the system worked. But…there’s a but…if the validity of the conviction is doubted; if the investigation is questionable…then: we have a problem. We have a lot of problems. (Bonus: all five episodes drop on Crave on Sunday, July 5.)
Monday, July 6
Sammy Suggestion: A Kid from Coney Island (Anytime / Netflix)
I never understood how Stephon Marbury went from the Knicks to China. Since this NBA documentary premiered at Tribeca 2019 I’ve been all eager beaver to check it out. ESPN’s 30 for 30 continues to be the hallmark of sports documentaries though in the past few years HBO, Showtime, Undefeated (LeBron and Drake), and now Netflix have joined the party and cranking out sports sagas. This doc comes from Forest Whitaker cool yeah? I don’t know how many stories there are to go around, still, it’s a good time to be curious and into sports. Fantastic warm up the NBA season starting on July 30th.
Tuesday, July 7
Sammy Suggestion: Jim Jefferies: Intolerant (Anytime / Netflix)
Jim Jefferies’ 2018 comedy special This Is Me Now is funny bone fantastic. Wall to Wall comedy. Granted it wasn’t enough to hook me to watch his show and some of his previous comedy specials feel unpolished. Still based on the strength of that last solid special I’m happy to check Intolerant.
Wednesday, July 8
Sammy Suggestion: Stateless: Season 1 (Anytime / Netflix)
Following yesterday’s Jim Jefferies recommendation let’s stick with Australian tv products. Stateless is reverse Crocodile Dundee: a 6 part mini-series. In the 1986 movie (I know!!) Dundee was (unsuccessfully) attempting to fit into American culture. Now that culture clash was presented for laughs (“that’s not a knife…”); Stateless is all about the drama. Horrifically immigrants are discovering “g’day mate” does not include them: not only are their attempts to successfully integrate into Australian culture rebuffed they’re being sent to an immigrant detention center. Though honestly the true treat and why I’m sharing this? Read the YouTube comments! Fans of Dark (and we are legion!) are leaving Dark comments for many of Netflix’s recent trailers as promotion. Frustrated with the underwhelming way Netflix has marketed Dark they’re employing a classic judo move; using Netflix’s trailers to promote the other Netflix show that everybody should be watching. Yo. So I mean you could watch Stateless or you know you could listen to the kids and watch Dark.
Thursday, July 9
Expecting Amy: 3 episode mini-series (Anytime / HBO Max & Crave)
Sammy Suggestion: Inside The NBA (8 p.m. / TNT)
TNT has a Tuesday night basketball show with D Wade but it’s terrible. Thursday is where the gold standard NBA action resides. Analysis and comedy and social commentary all wrapped into one delightful package. Ernie, Barkley, The Jet, and Shaq return tonight (last time we saw em was in March!) to begin breaking down the oddest NBA season. Which resumes on July 30. Because of the weird nature of the season and because of the weird way the NBA season is resuming…I don’t know. I think that out of all the franchises it makes sense if the Clippers win. There’s something cathartic about them—considering the torrid history of the franchise—winning in a weird time. Let’s see what the TNT Boys have to say about the Clippers, Celtics, and of course the Raptors.
Friday, July 10
The Old Guard (Anytime / Netflix)
The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants in Space (Anytime / Netflix)
Greyhound (Anytime / Apple TV)
Greatness Code: Season 1 (Anytime / Apple TV)
Sammy Suggestion: Palm Springs (Anytime / Hulu)
A stuck in a time loop movie! Andy Samberg doing the whole Groundhog Day routine. I’m a sucker for stuck in a time loop movies. Have you seen Happy Death Day? So much fun. Oh anyways about Palm Springs: “When carefree Nyles and reluctant maid of honor Sarah have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, things get complicated as they are unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other.” Andy Samberg doing the whole Groundhog Day routine. I’m a sucker for stuck in a time loop movies. Have you seen Happy Death Day? So much fun.
Saturday, July 11
Sammy Suggestion: Vivarium (Anytime / Amazon Prime)
“A young couple looking for the perfect home find themselves trapped in a mysterious labyrinth-like neighborhood of identical houses.” What? Says here it stars Jesse Eisenberg. Ah…the guy who made Zombieland? Social Network? The Art of Self-Defense? Yeah, so that explains a lot; especially the title that most people can’t pronounce.
