MEDIA RAYS
What’s on today
As far as TV is concerned, the holiday weekend continues. ABC airs the tune-filled two-hour special “CMA Country Christmas” at 8 p.m. The Food Network also has a seasonal special at 8 p.m., “Christmas Cookie Challenge.”
Tonight’s best bet, though, are two documentaries on HBO about Cuba, the struggle for rights and economic advantages, and other issues the island nation faces in the wake of normalized relations with the United States. “Patria o Muerte, Fatherland or Death,” airing at 8, is a
surprisingly frank documentary by first-time director Olatz López
Garmendia, filled with first-person accounts of the struggle for expression and jobs from men and women of all ages and from all walks of life.
Most complain that they have no rights, that they are arrested for no reason and held without trial for months, and that it’s impossible to live on the equivalent of pay as little as $20 a month. Yet they speak without fear of retribution by the government, which in itself is fascinating. The film was produced by artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel. “Mariela Castro’s
March: Cuba’s LGBT
Revolution,” directed by Jon Alpert, follows at 9, and depicts the emerging LGBT community and the work of Mariela Castro. Yes, she’s part of the ruling Castro family. She is the daughter of President Raúl Castro and the niece of Fidel, who died last week. She’s a member of the Cuban parliament and in fact was the first member ever to vote no on a resolution in parliament because the labor bill did not provide protection for the rights of transgender people. Castro and her colleagues travel to the most remote areas of Cuba to help people understand the battle for LGBT rights.
TV NEWS
ABC’s two rebooted versions of classic game shows will return in the new year. Alec Baldwin will once again host “Match Game” when it returns on Jan. 4, and Anthony Anderson will host “To Tell the Truth” when it comes back Jan. 1 AMC and Britain’s Channel 4 will team up on a new eight-part comedy-drama called “Loaded,” set to premiere in 2017. The series will follow four techies who become overnight multimillionaires. The cast includes Jim Howick, Samuel Anderson, Mary McCormack, Jonny Sweet and Nick Helm. Production is set to begin next month.