Jerry Seinfeld directs and stars in Netflix’s Unfrosted, the whimsical origin story of Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts. John Mulaney explores Los Angeles in a weeklong series of live specials airing during the Netflix Is a Joke Fest. CBS’s Fire Country throws an eventful Firefighters’ Ball. HGTV presents a series version of the Instagram account Zillow Gone Wild, touring truly outrageous homes.
Unfrosted
What’s so funny about Pop-Tarts? (Once you get past the name of the iconic breakfast treat.) Jerry Seinfeld is here to tell you. He makes his directing debut and a rare acting appearance in an origin story (co-written by Seinfeld) that takes us back to 1963, when Kellogg’s and Post were in a fierce competition to corner the breakfast market by developing a new pastry you could pop into the toaster. This flavorful saga has more guest stars than Pop-Tarts has fillings (my preference growing up was brown sugar cinnamon), with a cast including Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, Hugh Grant, James Marsden, Christian Slater, Saturday Night Live alums Bobby Moynihan and Fred Armisen, Thomas Lennon, Jack McBrayer, Daniel Levy, Jim Gaffigan, Max Greenfield, Bill Burr and more.
John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA
Having just dished with David Letterman in the latest installment of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, the Emmy-winning comic (John Mulaney: Baby J and Kid Gorgeous) returns to the streamer for six live broadcasts during the Netflix Is a Joke Fest. Mulaney, who headlines at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday, takes his idiosyncratic act onto the streets of Los Angeles, with field pieces exploring a city currently overrun with funny people. After Friday’s episode, more installments air live next Monday through Friday. His eclectic guest list includes Letterman, Seinfeld, Patton Oswalt, Sarah Silverman, Bill Hader, Hannah Gadsby, Cedric the Entertainer, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, filmmaker John Carpenter, hypnotherapist Kerry Gaynor, Flea, Beck, Los Lobos and more.
Fire Country
Station 42 is having a ball—the Firefighters Ball, to be precise, an annual event where the Station crew and the Three Rock camp hope to convince the visiting governor (Catherine Lough Haggquist) that the embattled inmate program deserves to continue. But there’s another surprise guest stirring up personal turmoil: Gabriela’s (Stephanie Arcila) estranged mom, Roberta (Paola Nuñez), who’s not blind to the love triangle between Gabriela, her fiancé Diego (Rafael de la Fuente) and her ex, Bode (Max Thieriot). Followed by a new episode of Blue Bloods (10/9c), where Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) and Baez (Marisa Ramirez) have cause for concern after the early release from prison of a serial killer who once went after Baez and her daughter.
Zillow Gone Wild
30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer (also appearing in Netflix’s Unfrosted) hosts a series based on the popular Instagram account showcasing lavish and/or ludicrous homes that have been put on the market. McBrayer leads tours of the homes with an emphasis on their “wow factor,” featuring backstories of the buyers and sellers. One over-the-top domicile will be declared the “Wildest House” in the June 28 season finale. (Viewers can enter a contest to predict the winner with a chance for a $25,000 prize.) First up: a residence once used as a missile silo and a Vegas address perfect for car lovers.
INSIDE FRIDAY TV:
- Starring Steve Martin (8/7c, Turner Classic Movies): Now an elder statesman of comedy, legendary “wild and crazy guy” Steve Martin’s early movie career is celebrated in a night-long marathon, kicking off with 1982’s film noir spoof Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, followed by 1988’s farcical caper Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (10/9c), co-starring Michael Caine, 1991’s romcom remake of Father of the Bride (midnight/11c) and overnight, 1981’s underrated musical melodrama Pennies from Heaven (2 am/1c).
- S.W.A.T. (8/7c, CBS): Tan (David Lim) goes Die Hard when he single-handedly tries to rescue his new paramour and her journalist colleagues when mercenaries disrupt a black-tie correspondents’ dinner.
- My Lottery Dream Home (9/8c, HGTV): Time to cash in with host David Bromstad in a new season of the series that helps folks who’ve come into a pile of loot find the kind of properties, from mega-mansions to humble starter homes, that they once could only have imagined inhabiting.
- True Crime Watch: On Dateline NBC (9/8c), Keith Morrison reports on a California woman’s fatal fall that’s more than an accident. ABC’s 20/20(9/8c) explores the 2016 disappearance and murder of Florida mom Tricia Todd, with suspects including a local pastor, a ventriloquist, and her ex-husband.
- Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show (11/10c, HBO): The comic may need to get serious when he brings his boyfriend Mike home to meet his Christian mother.
ON THE STREAM: