Discovery+ dives into Epstein affair
Every time conspiracy theories seem too “out there,” something happens in the real world to top them. And no collection of rumors and fact, shadows and light has more power than the story of Jeffrey Epstein, his influential friends, mysterious death and cache of potentially incendiary secrets.
The Epstein saga is the backdrop to the documentary series “Chasing Ghislaine,” streaming on Discovery+. It will also air over three hours on the ID Network on plain old cable on Dec. 3.
Executive-produced by novelist James Patterson and New York Times journalist and author Vicky Ward, “Chasing” catalogs Epstein’s many alleged crimes and network of connections as well as his girlfriend and protector Ghislaine Maxwell’s own life as a socialite and daughter to the (in)famous media mogul Robert Maxwell.
A refugee from Czechoslovakia, Ghislaine’s father amassed a publishing empire, became a member of British Parliament, and was thought to have been a spy. He was facing charges of fraud and financial irregularities when his body was found bobbing in the Atlantic Ocean. He was thought to have “fallen” from his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine.
If Maxwell’s life seems like the stuff of pulp fiction, it’s because he helped inspire a character in the James Bond movie “Tomorrow Never Dies” and was profiled by paperback writer Jeffrey Archer in his 1996 book “The Fourth Estate.”
Ghislaine Maxwell will go on trial in Manhattan next Monday. She is charged with procuring underaged girls for Jeffrey Epstein.
› If a “war on Christmas” actually exists, it is not the Fox News-fueled malarky about “the left” banishing the holiday, but the corporate and retail stampede to cram Christmas down our throats ever earlier in the calendar year.
In a brazen act of scheduling sacrilege, CBS broadcasts “Rudolph the RedNosed Reindeer” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-G), three whole nights before Thanksgiving! Only a truly misfit toy would think that’s a good idea.
› “Rudolph’s” theme of misfit toys (and reindeer and elves) finding their purpose and worth was recycled and updated in the 2019 cartoon “UglyDolls” (8 p.m., Disney XD, TV-PG) about plucky playthings shunning perfection and embracing their “different” status.
In other animated holiday news, the alien wags on the Hulu cartoon “Solar Opposites” do their best to understand human Christmas traditions on “The Very Solar Holiday Opposites Special.”
› The pop history series “The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek” (9 p.m., History, TV-PG) recalls the relatively fallow period for the “Trek” franchise between the 1969 cancellation of the original series and the 1979 film adaptation. Efforts to revive “Trek” received a boost from the huge success of “Star Wars” and “Close Encounters” in 1977.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
› Coaches Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande, John Legend and Blake Shelton whittle down their lists on “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
› “Dancing With the Stars” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) wraps up its 30th season.
› The Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the New York Giants in NFL action (8 p.m., ESPN). Fans can also follow along on “Monday Night Football With Peyton and Eli” (8:15 p.m., ESPN2).