‘Safe Harbor’ asks hard questions
Featuring a story both personal and deeply political, the four-part thriller “Safe Harbor” arrives on Hulu via Australia.
Action begins when a photogenic bunch are shown on an idle cruise between Tasmania and Indonesia. Their biggest concern seems to be sunblock, what’s for lunch and how soon to start drinking. Suddenly, a dark spot arrives on the horizon, a crippled boat inundated with refugees on their way to Australia. What to do?
An argument ensues among pleasure seekers as to their duty and the limits of their responsibility. A rash act sends the refugee boat adrift once again and seven perish when it finally sinks. The partiers return to their jobs and “normal” lives.
“Harbor” bounces back and forth in time, from the encounter between the two vessels and five years in the future, when one of the refugees, now a cabdriver, stumbles upon a familiar face.
A well-handled, if obvious, metaphor for the ongoing refugee crisis that has upset the political and social order of the developed world, “Safe Harbor” works as both a shipboard mystery and a moral dilemma. It’s both a whodunit and what-would-you-do? Recommended.
NYPD FOCUS
Hulu also begins streaming the documentary “Crime + Punishment,” a look at minority officers in the New York Police Department who have challenged official efforts to ramp up arrests in black and Latino neighborhoods, a practice they find both demoralizing and discriminatory.
UK FANTASY
Netflix begins streaming the eight-episode fantasy series “The Innocents” (TV-MA) from the United Kingdom. It’s about teens who feel a little out of sorts in their own skin. That’s because they’re shape-shifters! Yes, it’s a fantasy about teens coming into their mutant destiny. Look for Guy Pearce (“L.A. Confidential”).
This story would not be out of place on the CW, the network that commissioned and rejected the new Netflix series “Insatiable.” Speaking of the CW, Netflix is now streaming the fifth season of “The 100.”
BOXING BOUTS
America’s got boxing talent, and it will be on display on “The Contender” (10 p.m., Epix, TV-MA). Hosted by Andre Ward and produced by Mark Burnett, the series will feature 16 boxers in elimination rounds.
SCALY FRIENDS
Animal Planet introduces “Scaled” (9 p.m., TV-PG), a new series celebrating our cold-blooded friends, reptiles and the designers who build terrariums to house them. It’s basically a new variation on “Tanked.”
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
› The Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Detroit Lions in NFL preseason action (8 p.m., CBS).
› Convinced that he’s happily engaged, a famous singer rekindles a special friendship with a childhood sweetheart in the 2015 romance “A Country Wedding” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
› Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando star in the 1976 Western “The Missouri Breaks” (8 p.m., Outdoor). Randy Quaid, Harry Dean Stanton and Frederic Forrest also appear.
› John Quinones hosts “What Would You Do?” (9 p.m., ABC).
› Fortune seekers scour the Andes for untold billions on “Treasure Quest: Snake Island” (9 p.m., Discovery, TV-PG).
› Minneapolis finals of “American Ninja Warrior” (8 p.m., NBC, repeat, TV-PG).
› NBA greats face off in the BIG3 Championship Finals (8 p.m., Fox).
› On two episodes of “Masters of Illusion” (CW, repeat, TV-14), Titou (10 p.m.), Jeki Yoo (10:30 p.m.).
› “Dateline” (10 p.m., NBC).
› “20/20” (10 p.m., ABC).