Bobcat Goldthwait’s new anthology series
The anthology series is back. Over the past couple of years, series offering standalone short stories have returned to television. Netflix’s “Black Mirror,” Amazon’s “Electric Dreams” and HBO’s “Room 104” offer doses of horror, suspense, satire and speculations about the relationship between technology and society. Add “Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & Monsters” (10 p.m., TruTV) to the mix.
“Misfits” offers halfhour stories hearkening back to the old “Twilight Zone” as well as contemporary satire.
Goldthwait’s participation and the casting of Michael Ian Black, Bridget Everett, Dave Foley, Seth Green, Melissa Joan Hart, David Koechner, Samm Levine and Danny Pudi in the first eight-episode series offers a hint that the series will tilt towards absurdist comedy.
In the first episode, a cartoon voice-over artist (Seth Green) becomes unhinged when his favorite animated character begins to stalk his home and threaten his family. As Goldthwait has described the twisted hybrid, it’s a retelling of “Cape Fear” with a cartoon character as the monstrous intruder. It’s interesting to note that Goldthwait has worked as a voice-over artist. So now we know what haunts him.
Goldthwait has a well-established reputation for movies that defy audience expectations. His 1991 comedy “Shakes the Clown” remains a cult classic. His 2009 dark comedy “World’s Greatest Dad” remains one of the most audaciously bleak films I have ever seen. He has directed series by other comedians, including “Chappelle’s Show” and “Maron,” starring Marc Maron, now starring in “GLOW.” As a voice artist, he appeared on the legendary “Space Ghost, Coast to Coast” and provided the voice of Floppy the cranky stuffed bunny on the WB comedy “Unhappily Ever After.”
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
CBS debuts “TKO: Total Knock Out” (9 p.m.), an obstacle course competition produced by prolific TV creator Mark Burnett (“Survivor”). Kevin Hart (“Jumanji”) hosts.
THE ZIT ZAPPER
A dermatologist with a wide social-media following, Dr. Sandra Lee gets her own series with a name to tickle the fancy of 12-year-olds everywhere. In every episode, “Dr. Pimple Popper” (10 p.m., TLC, TV-14) consults patients with lumps, bumps, lesions and damaged skin that keep them from living normal lives. Consulted by millions on her Facebook and Instagram pages, Lee has already appeared on a TLC “Dr. Pimple Popper” special and a TLC GO series “Dr. Pimple Popper: This Is Zit.”
18TH-CENTURY HARLOTS
The costume drama “Harlots,” set in an 18th-century London brothel, returns for a second season on Hulu. Two new episodes stream tonight, with subsequent “Harlots” arriving every Wednesday.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
› Contestants cater a wedding on “MasterChef” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
› “Earth’s Natural Wonders: Life at the Extremes” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG) returns with a look at people surviving mountains, deserts and Arctic conditions.
› A Mississippi landmark needs help on “Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
› Willis comforts Rox on “Code Black” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
› A depressed dancer clings to fantasies on “Reverie” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
› A new twist on the zip-top bag on “Shark Tank” (10 p.m., ABC, repeat, TV-14).
› The Duttons observe a painful anniversary on “Yellowstone” (10 p.m., Paramount, TV-MA).
› Snyder schemes to take Seattle on “Colony” (10 p.m., USA, TV-14).
› Julie Chen hosts “Big Brother” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14).