Wednesday brings the second seasons of two very different series -- one exceedingly dark and one light. Let's begin with the lighter fare.
• Alone Together kicks off at 7 p.m. Wednesday on Freeform. A second new episode follows at 7:30. The droll comedy makes me laugh out loud.
But first.
More than two years after it was re-branded, I still get emails every time I mention Freeform asking what the heck it is. One more time: Freeform is the Disney-owned cable channel formerly known as ABC Family. In 2016, the powers that be decided to target teens and young adults, so the lineup now includes contemporary syndicated reruns, original series, films and made-for-TV original movies.
Alone Together is an original half-hour comedy created by and starring good friends Esther Povitsky (Lady Dynamite, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and Benji Aflalo (Not Safe with Nikki Glaser).
Povitsky plays Esther, a young woman from the Midwest trying to make it in LA as a comedian. Aflalo plays Benji, a Beverly Hills trust fund kid who lives with his older brother, Dean, played by Chris D'Elia.
Note that the creators didn't bother with getting too creative with their characters' names.
Esther and Benji (the characters) are two socially awkward millennials who are platonic best buds struggling to be accepted by "the vain and status-obsessed culture of Los Angeles," where everyone strives to be a perfect 10. Ester and Benji are self-proclaimed sixes. And that's on a good day.
Still, everyone keeps asking if they are a couple. In one episode, Esther has the perfect answer delivered in a deadpan monotone: "Just because we're small and undesirable, doesn't mean we should date."
Dating or not, these two best friends know each other so well that they sometimes seem more like an old married couple. Besides, they have nobody else with whom to hang out.
And now, the icing on the Season 2 cake.
Among those joining the cast as guest stars are Fran Drescher (The Nanny) as Mary, Esther's perfectly put together mom, and Carmen Electra (Baywatch) as Tia, described as "a beautiful and mysterious woman who seduces Benji."
Alone Together seems to be working just fine, because Freeform ordered a second season before the first had even aired.
Trivia: In a TV interview before Season 1 debuted in January, Povitsky revealed, "All my dreams have already come true. I have a small dog and a fat boyfriend. I'm happy."
• The Sinner, USA's intense and disturbing "limited series" has morphed into an anthology and debuts Season 2 at 9 p.m. Wednesday following a new episode of Suits. There will be eight episodes.
The first season starred Jessica Biel as Cora Tannetti, a woman who brutally killed a man in public, and Bill Pullman as detective Harry Ambrose, who spent the season trying to figure out why she did it.
That makes The Sinner a "whydunnit" rather than a "whodunnit" series. That premise continues in the second season.
In Season 2, Biel remains an executive producer, but Pullman is back as Ambrose, this time attempting to get to the bottom of a mysterious double murder in Keller, his rural western New York hometown, in which a young boy, Jullian (Elisha Henig Alex, Inc.), killed his parents with no apparent motive.
Naturally, Keller -- as seemingly with all TV small towns -- has "dark secrets." Also, there are folks in town who will stop at nothing to protect those secrets.
There is also Vera Walker (Carrie Coon, The Leftovers, Avengers: Infinity War), the leader of a commune called Moss Wood and "a mysterious woman who proves to be a complicated, enigmatic piece to this haunting puzzle."
In a USA interview, Biel said, "Just like we did in Season 1, we are looking at trauma and pain and abuse and the aftermath of that. The 'why' theme will always be the driving point for this show. We just want to show you what happened. We want to shock you a little bit, and then we want to understand why. This season is very twisty."
Season 1 of The Sinner turned out to be a hit for USA and Netflix, which won the streaming rights. The series is up for a couple of Golden Globes and Biel has been nominated for an Emmy as outstanding lead actress in a limited series.
• Making It, a new crafting competition series, debuts at 9 p.m. today on NBC with co-hosts Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman, familiar to viewers from their time on Parks & Recreation.
The six episodes bring together eight crafters taking on handmade challenges. One competitor is eliminated each week until the Master Maker is crowned and claims the $100,000 grand prize.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 07/31/2018