What To Watch On TV This Weekend: 'Muscles & Mayhem,' 'The Horror of Dolores Roach' And 'The Lincoln Lawyer' Season 2

It’s both a blessing and a curse that we’ve reached a time where there’s just so much television to experience but so many different places to find it. It makes scrolling across your streamer of choice an inconvenience that doesn’t offer as much of a payoff if you try a show half-heartedly and are disappointed.

That’s where I and some friends step in as a Deus-ex-machina of sorts, a way for you to resolve that inner conflict of what to choose and make sure it’s something worth investing in.

On LAist 89.3’s AirTalk, we bring television critics every week to give you a rundown of those shows that are fresh out of the oven. They’ll serve you a taste of what to expect and from there, you can choose whether or not you want to eat the rest.

Along with that, I’ll add to their topline thoughts and give some insights based on my experience watching the show. I may not have TV critic as my title but I got enough knowledge as a fan of film and television to at least give you an informed perspective. And as a member of Gen-Z, I’ll be able to add an extra filter you might get from someone on Twitter but with much less toxicity tied to it.

Sound good? Are you hungry now? Well while you wait for your food to be ready to eat, read through what we got to tell you.

Listen here

This week, AirTalk’s Larry Mantle talked about the latest on television and streaming with Eric Deggans, TV critic for NPR, and Liz Shannon Miller, senior entertainment editor at Consequence.

This week’s shows included:

• The Lincoln Lawyer [Season 2, Part 1] (Netflix)
• Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators (Netflix)
• Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan [Season 4, Final Season] (Amazon Prime Video)
• Warrior [Season 3] (Max)
• The Witcher [Season 3, Part 1] (Netflix)
• The Horror of Dolores Roach (Amazon Prime Video)
• I’m A Virgo (Amazon Prime Video)
• My Adventures With Superman (Adult Swim & Max)

Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators

Streaming on Netflix

Danny Lee Clark "Nitro, Steve Henneberry "Tower, Jim Starr "Laser" and Sha-ri Pendleton "Blaze."

(

Netflix

/

Netflix

)

First impression: The story of the hit reality TV show American Gladiator, through the eyes of those who starred in the show. It brings together both the troubling past of the show but also adding personal testimony as to how the show did provide some good for those involved.

Lasting impression: I think folks will definitely come out of the show feeling both entertained and informed. The docu-series pulls together compelling interviews, engaging animation, and a topic that lends itself to a lot of memorable sound and B-roll.

The 90s were a time that most adults can look back to in some capacity, even as a late 90s kid myself, I recall watching re-runs of shows like American Gladiator that we now view as problematic due to labor conditions and the lifestyle they implicitly promoted.

What makes this stand out as a documentary is the openness of stars like Zap, Nitro, and Virgo, talking about their drug use at the time and the physical toll the show took on them. You really feel for a fair amount of these folks but it’s interesting to also see how fondly they look back. It’s the toll of demanding work that I’m sure will keep many folks interested in the show, because even if you aren’t built like the folks on screen you sure have adversity that you’ve had to manage.

Who's behind it: The folks who directed and executive produced this docu-series are Jared Hess & Tony Vainuku. Hess’s most notable credit is as the director/writer for a couple of 2000s classics, the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite and the 2006 film Nacho Libre.

Vainuku’s credits are all in the documentary world, having worked previously with Netflix on Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist, which told the life and career of Manti Te'o, who found himself in headlines due to being catfished online.

When and where: All five episodes are streaming now on Netflix.

The Horror of Dolores Roach

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Justina Machado (Dolores Roach) and Alejandro Hernandez (Luis) in "The Horror of Dolores Roach."

(

Courtesy of Prime Vdieo

/

HODR_104_EN-US_PROD_UHD_SDR_200_

)

First impression: Dolores is a person who’s down in her luck, covering for a boyfriend of hers to the point of going to jail, only to get thrust back into society with no support system 16 years later. It’s then that horror ensues, including murder, cannibalism and popularity as a result of true crime fanatics.

Lasting impression: The show is an interesting project that takes advantage of folks’ obsessions with true crimes and manages to bake in the reality of mass incarceration in the world we live in today. Within it, you’ll find humor and a cast of characters you’ll find in contemporary Washington Heights.

Although this is a New York-centric story, I think you’ll get a whole lot out of it as an Angeleno and Californian, with the topics it delves into being familiar for plenty of folks here. It tells one outcome of the incarceration process, which Californians should know about considering the state ranks 2nd in having the most prisoners, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics for 2021. Whether it be due to the length of time or lack of support, a lot of folks can have trouble acclimating back to society and supporting themselves, which is what the show is attempting to depict.

This then brings us to the issue of gentrification, which can make it difficult for some to be acclimated, seeing some of your community get pushed out by developers and in the process making it harder for you to reconnect with them. The Urban Displacement Project detailed a 16% increase in gentrification in Los Angeles County from 1990 to 2015. So although this story isn’t going to perfectly apply to every incarcerated person in Los Angeles County, it at least offers a perspective in media that previously was left unnoticed.

Who's behind it: The creator of the show is Aaron Mark, who was the same person who developed the podcast and play Empanada Loca, which would later become this Amazon Prime Video show.

He doesn’t have many credits but he did previously serve as a consulting producer for Season 2, episode 10 of the Hulu show Into the Dark. Into The Dark was a show under Blumhouse Production’s television branch, who are also the folks who helped with The Horror of Dolores Roach.

When and where: All eight episodes are streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.

The Lincoln Lawyer [Season 2, Part 1]

Streaming on Netflix

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Haller in episode 202 of The Lincoln Lawyer.

(

COURTESY OF NETFLIX

/

The_Lincoln_Lawyer_n_S2_E2_00_45_27_16R_Crop

)

First impression: Mickey Haller is back, dealing with a lot of fallout resulting from Season 1 of the show, trying to balance his interests as a public defender with his newfound celebrity after winning a high-profile case. Yet, it’s through his success that he makes enemies, one of which is a man who seeks Mickey out with malicious intent– could it be to ruin his career or take his life?

Lasting impression: The show is a result of book author Michael Connelly, whose detective novels include The Brass Verdict and The Lincoln Lawyer, which are the original works that depicted Mickey Haller before the likes of Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Matthew McConaughey brought him to life.

The charisma McConaughey brought to the 2011 film The Lincoln Lawyer might not be the same as Garcia-Rulfo’s television version, but getting to see this new version of the role is great in its own right. Seeing Mickey’s development on-screen is the kind of story that’ll seem familiar to many people who enjoy noir and true crime, but to me that familiarity is the narrative equivalent of your favorite blanket.

Who's behind it: The credited creator of the show is David Kelley, who created and produced Doogie Howser, M.D. back in 1989. Most recently, he’s not only worked on this Netflix adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer but he also created the recent adaptation of Love & Death on Max.

When and where: Episodes 1-5 are streaming now on Netflix; episodes 6-10 (Part 2) release Aug. 3