When Beyoncé Went Country, Bon Jovi’s Story, Horse Racing’s Tragedy, ‘Blue Bloods’ Takes on AI

A documentary special from CNN’s Flash Docs unit examines the evolution, some might say revolution, within the country-music industry, embodied by the blockbuster release last month of Beyoncé’s chart-topping Cowboy Carter country album. Diversity within a genre once dominated by straight white men has stimulated debate about the future of country music, while the special suggests Black artists in Nashville are nothing new. Musicians discussing the latest trends include Rhiannon Giddens, whose banjo skills can be heard on Beyonce’s “Texas Hold ’Em,” Brothers Osborne and Rissi Palmer, with music and culture experts also weighing in.

A four-part docuseries provides a colorful account of how “five guys from nowhere” rocked their way from Jersey Shore clubs into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. With archival videos and unreleased early demos from their personal vaults to track the band’s early years, the series also includes personal reflections from Jon Bon Jovi about struggling with a vocal cord injury and Richie Sambora about his sudden exit from Bon Jovi. Fellow Jersey native Bruce Springsteen is among those singing the band’s praises.

The latest installment of the investigative series titled Broken Horses dives into the tragedies that shocked the sports world in 2023 when seven racehorses died at Churchill Downs before the running of the iconic Kentucky Derby, with five more perishing in the days after and even more horses meeting their ends as the Triple Crown continued. New York Times reporters Joe Drape, Melissa Hoppert, Rachel Abrams and Liz Day look into how this happened to the so-called Sport of Kings, exposing a system of careless breeding and illegal doping, with veterinarians and trainers complicit in the business and political forces that resist regulatory measures.

Artificial Intelligence is becoming a popular go-to villain in recent procedurals, and Jamie Reagan (Will Estes) is the latest to go to battle with its practitioners. He targets a group of scammers using AI to hoodwink and defraud elderly victims. Elsewhere, brother Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) works with Baez (Marisa Ramirez) to investigate deaths in a hospital, while commissioner dad Frank (Tom Selleck) is none too pleased to learn that Gormley (Robert Clohessy) plans to fight fellow officers in an unsanctioned boxing match.

Is there anything the gifted Emmy and Tony-winning actor-author John Lithgow can’t do? His enthusiasm for the arts shines through in a special celebration of arts education, when Lithgow participates with students and teachers in four L.A. organizations teaching the disciplines of dance (at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy), ceramics, silk-screen printing and vocal jazz. Whether he’s learning new moves, new notes or new techniques in pottery and silk-screen printing, Lithgow is game for any creative experience.

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• NFL Draft (7 pm/ET, ABC, ESPN, NFL Network): Rounds 2 and 3 of the pro football picks resume from Detroit.
• S.W.A.T. (8/7c, CBS): While tracking down a sniper, Hondo (Shemar Moore) finds a connection between the shooter and his own South L.A. neighborhood. Followed by Fire Country (9/8c), where local public opinion is turning against Three Rock, threatening the camp’s future.
• 100 Days to Indy (9/8c, The CW): The racing docuseries’ second season begins the countdown to the Indianapolis 500 with the first race of the NTT Indycar Series season in St. Petersburg, Florida, where reigning champ Josef Newgarden hot for an early victory.
• We’re Here (9/8c, HBO): Winner of Emmy, Peabody and GLAAD awards, the uplifting reality show begins its fourth season with the first of two episodes set in and around Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with new drag queens Sasha Velour, Priyanka and Jaida Essence Hall spreading their goodwill and transformative support to a region that canceled Pride after a statewide anti-drag ban.
• Mary & George (9/8c, Starz): In the lurid costume drama, King James I (Tony Curran) brings along his pet George (Nicholas Galitzine) for the monarch’s first trip home to native Scotland since taking the crown. While they’re away, George’s scheming mom Mary (Julianne Moore) goes to war against haughty Lady Hatton (Nicola Walker) to arrange a marriage for her troubled son John (Tom Victor).
• Dateline NBC (9/8c, NBC): A New Jersey woman’s disappearance turns up evidence of her husband’s shady history, including a former wife who also went missing.

ON THE STREAM:

• Action (streaming on Peacock): In advance of next weekend’s release of the big-screen The Fall Guy, a docuseries goes behind the scenes with the real-life stunt doubles from the 87North stunt team. Highlights include Keanu Reeves sharing his admiration for these daredevils, and backstage footage from The Fall Guy.
• Knuckles (streaming on Paramount+): A live-action spinoff of Sonic the Hedgehog finds Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba) schooling hapless deputy sheriff Wade (Adam Pally) in the ways of the Echidna warrior. All six episodes are available for binge-watching.
• Infested (streaming on Shudder): Arachnophobes should probably steer clear of this French-language thriller about an exotic-creature enthusiast who brings home a venomous spider that escapes, reproduces and turns the entire building into a webbed prison.
• Franklin (streaming on Apple TV+): Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan) livens up the historical drama as a very impatient John Adams, who’s anything but a fan of Ben Franklin (Michael Douglas) when he arrives in France to speed up the diplomatic mission.
• Sugar (streaming on Apple TV+): Private eye John Sugar (Colin Farrell) confronts troubled actor Davey Siegel (Nate Corddry) over his half-sister Olivia’s disappearance, with unexpected consequences, then unleashes his violent dark side when Melanie (Amy Ryan) is in danger.