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There are 2 new TV shows with primates at the center. Which one are critics going bananas for?
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Tonia Haddix in the new HBO docuseries 'Chimp Crazy.'
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Each week some of the best television critics in the game join AirTalk, LAist 89.3’s daily news program, to help us sift through the new releases and break down what’s worth watching. This week, two shows with primates at the center are out. Are our critics team Chimp Crazy or Bad Monkey?
Chimp Crazy
From the creator of the explosive pandemic favorite Tiger King comes a new examination of human relationships with wildlife. Chimp Crazy is a four-part docuseries that follows a former nurse named Tonia Haddix who finds a love for chimps. Things get wild from there.
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“[Tonia] presents a version of reality that in many different venues is trying to will it into fact. So, you know, use whatever metaphor you want, but I do think that if this permeates the American consciousness the same way 'Tiger King' does, I don't think that's a coincidence.” — Steve Green, freelance TV critic
"There's going to be a lot of Reddit threads, a lot of think pieces... on the ethics of this and how it was filmed and whether it's exploiting Tonia, whether it's exploiting the chimps that she's talking about, whether the ways they went about getting the story are morally, ethically sound." — Whitney Friedlander, freelancer TV writer
When and where: The first episode premieres at 7 p.m. Sunday on HBO/Max. Episodes release weekly.
Bad Monkey
Scrubs and Ted Lasso creator Bill Lawrence is back with a whimsical crime comedy in which a former Miami police detective tries to regain trust with the department. Yes, there's a monkey in the series, but it's not as prominent as the primates in Chimp Crazy. Something to keep in mind.
“Vince Vaughn is very entertaining as kind of like this rugged, over it, police detective who can't abide by the law.” — Whitney Friedlander, freelance entertainment writer
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"The main appeal here is Vaughn getting to do his kind of slightly removed, wry act, which I feel like he really hasn't had a chance to do in a readily available piece of entertainment recently." — Steve Greene, freelance TV critic
When and where: The first two episodes are available on Apple TV+. Episodes release weekly. There will be 10 episodes total.
Emily in Paris [Season 4, Part 1]
A young American woman named Emily continues to juggle challenges with her marketing career and love life all in one of the fashion capitals of the world.
"Emily in Paris continues to be a very, very great show to watch when you're trying to fall asleep. It is beautiful. It is not that deep. And sometimes you just need to, you know, see Lily Collins in a really chic red suit." — Whitney Friedlander, freelance entertainment writer
When and where: The first five episodes are available on Netflix. The final five episodes release on Sep.12.
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Bel-Air [Season 3]
A more serious toned re-imagining of the popular 90s sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
"It's a really good example of how something that is essentially a teen drama can hit on really important issues that we don't tend to talk about." — Whitney Friedlander, freelance entertainment writer
When and where: The first three episodes are available on Peacock. Episodes release weekly. There are 10 episodes.
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TV-talk: ‘Emily in Paris,’ ‘Chimp Crazy,’ ‘Bel-Air’ and more
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