‘How to Die Alone,’ ‘Three Women,’ Emmy Preview, ‘Uglies’

How To Die Alone

“You’re your own emergency contact?” a nurse asks Mel (Emmy-nominated Natasha Rothwell, The White Lotus) after a near-death encounter. Mel is the heroine of this smartly endearing quasi-romantic comedy, a JFK Airport employee who feels invisible to others and is afraid to fly, a metaphor for the fear and self-doubt that keeps her grounded and alone. “I have no idea where I’m going—and even if I did, I couldn’t afford it,” she laments. But when a near-fatal encounter with a toppled Ikea-style armoire sends her to the hospital, Mel begins a journey of self-improvement and acceptance. An invitation to a New Year’s wedding in Maui from his boss and ex-boyfriend (New Amsterdam’s Jocko Sims) inspires her to test and spread her wings. Godspeed, Mel! The series launches with four episodes.

Three Women

Rescued by Starz after Showtime dropped it post-filming, this provocative drama based on Lisa Taddeo’s non-fiction bestseller stars Big Little Lies’ Shailene Woodley as a writer who hits the road to tell the untold story of women trapped in states of desire. The acting is exceptional as her subjects are introduced: Betty Gilpin as Lina, a painfully unhappy Indiana wife desperate for intimacy; DeWanda Wise as glamorous Sloane, whose open marriage (to Blair Underwood) creates challenges; and Maggie (Gabrielle Creevy), a young adult in North Dakota haunted by her relationship with her married high-school English teacher (Jason Ralph).

Emmys

As a curtain-raiser to Sunday night’s Emmys telecast (8/7c, 5 pm/PT), Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts (also co-host of Sunday’s On the Red Carpet pre-show) interviews first-time nominees including Hiroyuki Sanada, front-runner in the lead actor category for his role in FX’s Shogun, the year’s most nominated series. She also chats with first-timers Lionel Boyce (FX’s The Bear) and Oscar-nominated Lily Gladstone of Hulu’s Under the Bridge. (It’s probably no coincidence that all of their shows air on platforms that, like ABC, are owned by Disney.) The special also includes an interview with seven-time Emmy winner and living legend Carol Burnett, who at 91 is nominated again as supporting actress in the Apple TV+ comedy Palm Royale.

Uglies

The versatile Joey King, whose track record includes romcoms (The Kissing Booth) and searing dramas (The Act, We Were the Lucky Ones), stars in a sci-fi thriller from director McG about a future society that subjects all of its citizens to beauty-conforming cosmetic surgery at 16. King plays Tally, who’s been waiting her entire life for this benefit, until she’s made aware of the procedure’s downside and a secret society of runaway rebels who call themselves “The Smoke.” (This all reminds me of a classic Twilight Zone episode “Eye of the Beholder.” Check it out.)

Reds

It’s Warren Beatty night as TCM continues its weekly “Making Change” series of politically charged movie classics. Beatty stars in and won a directing Oscar for the 1981 biographical epic about journalist and Communist activist John Reed. Followed by 1974’s The Parallax View (11:30/10:30c), a taut conspiracy thriller starring Beatty as an investigative reporter snooping into a covert group responsible for political assassinations.

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• The Cases of Mystery Lane: Death Is Listening (8/7c, Hallmark Mystery): Aimee Garcia and Paul Campbell return as Birdie and Alden Case, working together to solve the murder of their favorite podcaster.
• True Crime Watch: On ABC’s 20/20 (9/8c), Deborah Roberts interviews Ashley Benefield (also the subject of last Saturday’s 48 Hours), convicted of manslaughter in the so-called “Black Swan” fatal shooting of her husband Douglas in 2021. Dateline NBC (10/9c) features interviews with Derrica and Natalie Wilson, founders of the Black and Missing Foundation, in a report on the disappearance of an 8-months-pregnant woman.

ON THE STREAM:

• LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy (streaming on Disney+): Stranger Things’ Gaten Matarazzo leads the voice cast in a whimsical “four-piece” animated special in which the Star Wars galaxy is scrambled brick by brick, resulting in anomalies like a Darth Jar Jar.
• In Vogue: The 90s (streaming on Hulu): A six-part docuseries (the final three episodes drop Sept. 20) explores and celebrates 1990s fashion trends through the lens of Vogue magazine and its editors, including Anna Wintour in her signature sunglasses. Tons of celebrities also weigh in.
• Pachinko (streaming on Apple TV+): An emotional reunion, disturbing revelations and a crushing setback make life eventful for the displaced Koreans in 1945 war-torn Japan, while in 1989, the elderly Sunja (Youn Yuh-jung) visits her grandson Solomon (Jin Ha) and reminds him, “Do not forget who you are.”
• RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All-Stars (streaming on Paramount+): The 9 remaining International Glamazons prepare runway looks that are cocktail-hour ready, then host RuPaul throws the latest curveball. Model Jasmine Tookes is the guest judge.
• UFO Cowboys (streaming on The Roku Channel): The paranormal series returns for a second season, following the Cowboy Sky Watchers along the so-called “UFO Superhighway” along the 37^th Parallel in the Western U.S.
• The Grand Tour: One for the Road (streaming on Prime Video): In what’s billed as their final road trip together, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May head to Zimbabwe, driving flashy wheels through rugged terrain.
• Civil War (streaming on Max): Director Alex Garland’s dystopian film about journalists traversing a violent future America makes its streaming debut. HBO premieres the movie Saturday at 8/7c.