It’s been a cruel, cruel summer — lots of heat, lots of sad scary news — and we could all use some quality TV distractions. The good news is that some really great Jewish TV shows and events that premiered in July are still carrying on into August, including the truly incredible “Lady in the Lake,” which is still airing new episodes on Apple TV+, and the Olympics, which have had some lovely moments of naches for us all. As for August Jewish TV premiers? Well, there aren’t terribly many of them, but they’re glamorous and quirky and hopefully plenty diverting. Let’s get into it.
August 3: “Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes” on Max
We get to rediscover the (very Jewish!) first lady of Hollywood, in her own words, through 40 hours of never-before-heard interviews recorded by journalist Richard Meryman. At a time when celebrity culture has been blown out of every proportion, it’s poignant to hear of what the real flesh and blood person behind the icon really thought and felt. The film has two excellent Jewish woman creators behind it: director Nanette Burstein and editor Tal Ben-David, who have collaborated on biographic projects about the likes of Hillary Clinton and bodybuilder Sally McNeil.
August 5: “Judy Justice” on Amazon Freevee
Did you know that Judy Sheindlin aka Judge Judy is still passing her harsh judgements on TV, and that there are already two seasons of “Judy Justice” that you can stream for free on Amazon Freevee? Well, if you grew up on the sassy judge from Brooklyn like I did, you might be happy to find out that not only is she still around, but she’s still got the most chutzpah in town. My soul is personally too fragile to watch Judy absolutely eviscerate people like no one else can (seriously, I don’t think my nailbeds can handle this show), but this could be the TV show to help you forget your troubles, with some Yiddishisms and a heavy Brooklyn accent sprinkled on top for that extra viewing pleasure.
August 8: “Mr. Throwback” on Peacock
Underrated and most excellent comedian Adam Pally is all about playing truly out-there Jewish roles on TV this year. After playing a failing Jewish cop on “Knuckles” and giving us the most unhinged Shabbat TV episode I’ve ever seen, he’s now in this fictional show starring the very Jewish adjacent Steph Curry (he has Hebrew tattoos! He wears Hebrew sweatshirts! He loves Hebrew!) as Danny Grossman, a former basketball prodigy who was one of “the splash siblings” along with Curry way back in high school. He’s now a down on his luck memorabilia dealer. The fictional version of Curry in the show finds Grossman again and the player decides that he wants to film a documentary about what happened to him and his basketball promise. Listen, I don’t know how Jewish this show will be, but are there non-Jewish Grossmans? I’m sure, but you shouldn’t cast Adam Pally to play them!! Also, I think he’s sitting at a Jewish deli in one of these scenes but don’t quote me on that. I’m mystified by this show and can’t wait to watch it and report back.
