Pepe creator: it’s not easy being green
The “Independent Lens” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-MA) documentary “Feels Good Man” may be about a cartoon frog, but it’s far from two-dimensional. Directed by Arthur Jones, “Man” profiles artist Matt Furie, who created a little green frog character named Pepe for a comic he posted on MySpace called “Boy’s Club.” Remember MySpace?
The film does a brilliant job showing how Pepe was appropriated by others and became a mascot for the alt-right and other hate groups.
Along the way it offers a crash course in underground internet comics, the sociology of the internet forum 4Chan and the evolution of internet memes. It’s a fascinating study of an emerging alternative media universe. At the center is Furie, a cartoonist who lost control over his little frog and is now fighting to get Pepe back.
› There’s never been more television. At the same time, you can’t escape the feeling that too much of it is terribly familiar. The COVID-related closure of production studios explains some of the sameness, but not all. Beset with national trauma, quarantine and the weirdest year on record, many take comfort in the tried and true.
Just last night, ABC recycled not just “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” in prime time, but “Supermarket Sweep.” Can “Bowling for Dollars” be far behind?
Tonight’s network lineup represents a festival of the familiar. Julie Chen Moonves hosts “Big Brother” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG), now in its 22nd season. Somehow “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) has managed to air 19 seasons already. Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and Blake Shelton swivel their red chairs. And nothing says “same old” like the 29th season of competition and elimination on “Dancing With the Stars” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
Even Netflix, offering a glut of content with the occasional nugget of inspiration, seems to be in the comfort food business.
“Unsolved Mysteries” enters its second season. Or the second six episodes of its first season. It’s easy to see why the original “Unsolved,” long associated with actor Robert Stack, stuck around for more than 500 episodes.
The Netflix “Mysteries” has dispensed with the familiar host. When Robert Stack and others hosted the series, it was a bit of a novelty to have a documentary-style true-crime show in prime time. Those days are long gone.
The best thing about the new “Mysteries” is its international reach. Americans have no monopoly on murder, mayhem and the macabre. Among the best installments of the first six episodes was the story about the vanished dad who murdered his family and buried them in the basement of their posh French home. If the trailer for the new season is to be believed, there are some “Unsolved Mysteries” in Japan.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
› The Buffalo Bills host the Kansas City Chiefs in NFL football action (5 p.m., Fox).
› Carson Kressley hosts “American Humane Hero Dog Awards: 10th Anniversary Celebration” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
› Pulling strings on “L.A.’s Finest” (8:15 p.m., Fox, TV-14).