Summer school is in session. Netflix launches the goofy high school comedy "Mr. Iglesias," starring Gabriel Iglesias, the comedian better known as "Fluffy."
Hardly departing from his stand-up persona, Iglesias projects a breezy informality in the classroom, riffing on the American history he teaches to the delight of his students, not all of them bright or ambitious.
The banter is spread pretty evenly between the kids and his fellow faculty. Look for Sherri Shepherd as principal Paula Madison, as likely to talk about her failure to secure a man on a dating app as anything academic. His colleague Abigail (Maggie Geha) is as whitebread as her name, and apt to think of herself as an overachiever. Oscar Nunez ("The Office") plays the officious administrator Carlos, who schemes to expel all of the underachieving students in order to up the school’s average. Remembering his own school experience, Iglesias offers to mentor them during summer school, sacrificing his own long-planned road trip adventure.
Most of "Mr. Iglesias" offers a chance for Fluffy to perform, either cracking wise about politics and American history or breaking spontaneously into romantic ballads from the 1990s. Among the more interesting characters is a socially stunted student who only stares at screens. Most teachers believe that she won’t — or can’t — talk, but she relates only to Mr. Iglesias, who frequently exploits her hacking skills.
For all of the shenanigans, this series is meant to extol the virtues of educators and is dedicated to a teacher who inspired Iglesias.
— Hulu streams the first five episodes of the kids’ cartoon "The Bravest Knight." Based on an illustrated book by Daniel Errico, it follows Sir Cedric (T.R. Knight) and Prince Andrew (Wilson Cruz), who are not only knights, but the two adoptive dads to 10-year-old daughter Nia, who is also being trained to be a knight.
Yes, Nia has two dads. But the same-sex coupling of Cedric and Andrew is not the central theme of "Bravest." The mercifully short episodes offer plenty of flashbacks to Cedric’s pre-knight days when he was a humble pumpkin farmer. The animation is undistinguished, and the tales a tad slow to unfold. Parents worried about any overt messaging or agenda in this cartoon will instead find it pretty boring.
"Bravest Knight" is hardly alone. The children’s cartoon "Arthur" recently featured a same-sex wedding. There’s been talk of sapphic special friends on a forthcoming episode of "My Little Pony." The Muppets Bert and Ernie have inspired too much debate not to seem absurd. Archie comics have identified Jughead as "asexual," and there’s always been some who thought that the "Peanuts" characters Marcie and Peppermint Patty were more than friends.
Young viewers from homes with LGBTQ friends and family members may find some affirmation in "Bravest Knight." I suspect most will more likely tune out its too-gentle pace and laughless situations.
Are cartoons and comics the right place to impart lessons about love or lifestyles? Ever since Ignatz tossed bricks at Krazy Kat, animated displays of affection have followed a logic of their own.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A surgeon exposed on "Whistleblower" (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).
— Fitz and Simmons reunite on "Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
— The late John Candy stars in back-to-back vacation comedies, "The Great Outdoors" (8 p.m., AMC, TV-PG) and "Summer Rental" (10 p.m., AMC, TV-PG).
— "American Masters" (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) profiles conductor Robert Shaw.
— A family feud on "Blue Bloods" (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
— Audiences greeted the 1976 boxing fantasy "Rocky" (6 p.m., Paramount, TV-PG) as a Capra-esque antidote to the malaise of the post-Watergate and post-Vietnam era. Few anticipated that the franchise would still be churning out sequels like "Creed" (9 p.m., Paramount, TV-14) some 40 years later.
SERIES NOTES
Obstacles galore on "American Ninja Warrior" (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … Jamie Foxx hosts "Beat Shazam" (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … Dean Cain hosts "Masters of Illusion" (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG).
A killer was inspired by comic books on "Hawaii Five-0" (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … The season’s first challenge on "MasterChef" (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14) … "20/20" (9 p.m., ABC, r) … Diverse acts perform on "The Big Stage" (9 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … "Dateline" (10 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Naomi Watts and the Raconteurs are booked on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jim Gaffigan, Linda Cardellini and Ocean Vuong visit "Late Night With Seth Meyers" (12:35 a.m., NBC, r) … Andrew Garfield, Lake Bell and Blackpink appear on "The Late Late Show With James Corden" (12:35 a.m., CBS, r).
