Netflix taught most of us to watch programs whenever we want. But occasionally, it breaks into the “live” programming business, hearkening back to the days of “appointment TV.”
Netflix presents “Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats,” a live special from San Antonio first streaming at 10 p.m. on Saturday. This marks Rogan’s first comedy special in six years and will no doubt reflect his status as a podcaster and interviewer.
Like many viewers of a certain age, I first encountered Rogan as a distinctly minor part of the very talented cast of the NBC comedy “NewsRadio,” which ran from 1995 to 1999. I can’t imagine anybody at the time predicting that he would become the biggest, or at least most influential, star from an ensemble that included Dave Foley, Stephen Root, Andy Dick, Maura Tierney, Vicki Lewis, Khandi Alexander and the late Phil Hartman.
After that series, Rogan toiled in the relatively obscure ends of cable and broadcast, including the candid-camera series “Fear Factor,” later hosted by the late Shannen Doherty. Rogan has long been associated as both an announcer and fan in the extreme sports world of Ultimate Fighting, and co-hosted “The Man Show,” the launching pad for a comic named Jimmy Kimmel. He also hosted the short-lived series “Joe Rogan Questions Everything” on Syfy, a forum for “open-minded” speculation about topics like UFOs and Bigfoot.
Rogan’s fluency in the language of testosterone culture and his playful sense of anything-goes conspiracy mongering served him well as a podcaster. He has been both touted as a means to understanding the mindset of angry males and as a cynical purveyor of dangerous disinformation during the COVID era, a pandemic that claimed more than a million American lives.
A million dead Americans. That’s more than twice the number of American soldiers killed during World War II. During the dark days of COVID, Rogan amplified voices that spread lies about the disease and incited doubt and cynicism about the public health efforts that successfully ended the pandemic. And he made money and gained “influence” in the process.
It can’t be overstated: COVID killed twice as many Americans as died in combat during World War II. And there were also “entertainers” during that war who helped undermine the Allied war effort.
An American citizen of Japanese descent, Iva Toguri made radio broadcasts from Japan that were intended to demoralize American troops serving in the Pacific theater.
British subject William Joyce made pro-Nazi broadcasts from Germany under the name “Lord Haw-Haw.”
After the war, Toguri spent time in prison. Lord Haw- Haw didn’t have it so easy. Joyce was convicted of treason and executed in 1946. He was the very last person to be executed for treason in the United Kingdom.
— Male-skewing programming of different sort arrives with “Dude Perfect: A Very Long Shot” on “30 for 30” (9:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPN). The documentary profiles a group of college friends who struck a chord with silly sports videos.
— “Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Videos” (8 p.m. Saturday, HBO, TV-MA) offers a new look at the Hollywood star (1932-2011) arising from the discovery of 40 hours of hitherto unheard interviews taped by Life magazine reporter Richard Meryman in the late 1960s.
Directed by Nanette Burstein (“The Kid Stays in the Picture”), the film blends Meryman’s audio with personal snapshots and archival footage. Taylor offers a frank appraisal of her Hollywood ordeal. Much like Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, Taylor was packaged by the studio system. Ever in the public eye, she navigated the perilous voyage from child star (“Lassie Come Home”) to pretty girl next door (“Father of the Bride”) to full-throated sex symbol (“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”). Few actresses’ shapes were as scrutinized as Taylor’s. And while multiple divorces were common in Hollywood, Taylor’s adulterous liaison with “Cleopatra” co-star Richard Burton even received a public rebuke from the Vatican.
It’s fitting that this reappraisal comes from a Life magazine interview. That glossy photo magazine was as responsible as any outlet for the breathless coverage of Taylor’s celebrity and notoriety. It published its last weekly issue in 1972.
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— “Primetime in Paris: The Olympics” (7 p.m., NBC) presents swimming, track and field and gymnastics.
— The Cleveland Guardians host the Baltimore Orioles in MLB action (7 p.m., Fox).
— An expectant mother’s idyllic life comes crashing down in the 2024 shocker “I Thought My Husband’s Wife Was Dead” (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— A bookish woman pushing the big 4-0 reconnects with her 8-year-old self in the 2024 romance “Junebug” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS): breakthroughs in brain surgery; the world’s tiniest nation state.
— “Primetime in Paris: The Olympics” (7 p.m., NBC) presents swimming, track and field and gymnastics.
— Major announcements rattle the family on “Hotel Portofino” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings).
— Rick Moranis stars in the 1989 horror spoof “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— The public death of a private man on the sixth season finale of “Grantchester” on “Masterpiece” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings).
— The new mayor rejects a major request on “Snowpiercer” (9 p.m., AMC, TV-MA).
— The kids aren’t all right on “House of the Dragon” (9 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
— A record shipment arrives in Miami on “Hotel Cocaine” (9 p.m., MGM+, TV-MA).
— Coming clean on “Orphan Black: Echoes” (10 p.m., AMC, TV-MA).
— A friend of the judge’s offers insight on “Emperor of Ocean Park” (10 p.m., MGM+, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
A widow and dowdy British clerk (Julie Andrews) strikes up an unlikely friendship with a dashing Soviet official (Omar Sharif) while vacationing in the Caribbean in the 1974 espionage thriller “The Tamarind Seed” (12:45 p.m., Sunday, TCM). Directed by Andrews’ husband Blake Edwards, and part of a 24-hour salute to Julie Andrews’ movies.
SATURDAY SERIES
A farewell to arms dealers on “S.W.A.T.” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … On three episodes of “Will Trent” (ABC, TV-14): secrets behind bars (8 p.m.); a pastor seems fishy (9 p.m.); an urban legend (10 p.m.) … Two episodes of “48 Hours” (9 p.m., CBS, r).
SUNDAY SERIES
A new scheme hits a roadblock on “Tulsa King” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … On four episodes of “Krapopolis” (Fox, r, TV-14): shunned (8 p.m.); therapy (8:30 p.m.); dual loyalties (9 p.m.); a homegrown menace (9:30 p.m.) … “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (8 p.m., ABC, r) … Stuck inside on “Big Brother” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … Colter searches for a missing sister who discovered a small town’s big secret on “Tracker” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
