Anne faces timeless issues
She’s baaaaaaack! Anne Shirley, that spunky redhead from Green Gables, is returning with a new television series on CBC called Anne. Amybeth McNulty embodies this version of the character in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s 1908 novel, but much of the tale remains the same.
After being shuffled around in orphanages and strangers’ homes, Anne ends up in a Prince Edward Island town with an aging sister and brother, Marilla (Geraldine James) and Matthew (R.H. Thomson). The 13-year-old girl soon makes her mark with her infectious spirit, sharp mind and sparkling imagination.
The show is set in the late 1890s, but the issues Anne faces are timeless. She struggles with personal identity, feminism, bullying and prejudice, but learns to navigate her coming-of-age journey with pluck.
In the two-hour premiere episode, titled Your Will Shall Decide Your Destiny, Anne is determined to prove to her new guardians that girls can do anything boys can. However, Marilla’s treasured brooch goes missing, and Anne pays the price. (CBC)
LITTLE BIG SHOTS
Kids say and do the darndest things — and TV viewers love watching them. Remember Bill Cosby’s late-’90s series, aptly named Kids Say the Darndest Things? Whereas that show got kids talking about topics like religion and government, Little Big Shots sees them in action, performing jaw-dropping feats and delivering YouTube-worthy performances.
Steve Harvey, who moonlights (or is it daylights?) as the host of Family Feud, is the host of this NBC series, now in its second season. Tonight’s new episode is titled New Sheriff in Town, referencing a five-year-old cowboy who steals the spotlight with his lasso skills. (NBC/City)
THE SIMPSONS
Deep into its 28th season, The Simpsons airs the new episode A Father’s Watch. In it, Marge becomes worried that Bart is destined for failure, so she turns to some parenting experts for help. Also, Homer gets into the entrepreneurial spirit and decides to open a trophy store. And, in the storyline referenced by the title, Grampa gives Bart a watch coveted by Homer. (Fox)
THE PASSIONATE EYE
A new instalment of the documentary series airs the title Frat Boys: Inside America’s Fraternities. Cameras peek into the elite organizations that have produced many powerful public figures — since 1900, frat houses have produced 18 U.S. presidents, 80 per cent of U.S. Supreme Court justices and 85 per cent of Fortune 500 executives.
But frat houses are also notorious for reports of heavy drinking, secret rituals, brutal hazing traditions and sexual assault. Frat Boys gives viewers access to The Gazoni Family, a fraternity at the University of Central Florida, during the pledging process. (CBC News Network)
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
The TLC series excavating the ancestry of celebrities focuses this new episode on actress Jennifer Grey, who’s best known for playing Baby in Dirty Dancing but who now stars on the Amazon Prime Canada series Red Oaks. Grey focuses on her grandfather, who beat adversity to become a leader in his community, and discovers a great-grandmother whose tragedy prevented her from making it to America.