Worth Watching: CW’s ‘Dead Pixels,’ ‘I Quit’ on Discovery, Good Sports on ‘Real Sports’
A selective critical checklist of notable Tuesday TV:
Dead Pixels (8/7c, The CW): It may sound like another weirdly offbeat cult show in the tradition of iZombie, but this British import is that rarest of creatures on The CW: a scripted comedy. Set in the world of obsessive gamers, who neglect their work (and even their children) to advance to the next level with their avatars revealing their truest selves, Pixels‘ initial story is driven by the irrepressible Meg (Alexa Davies). Her passion for the online fantasy game Kingdom Scrolls is matched only by her incessant horniness, which spikes when she meets hot new co-worker Russell (David Mumeni). He sees and admires her game play, and before they know it, Russell has joined the game, perhaps too eagerly, to the dismay of Meg’s buds Usman (Sargon Yelda) and BFF Ricky (Will Merrick), who gripes: “We have a ‘casual’ among us. … What is this, an arcade game?” If you like this clever if unsparing series, check out the Apple TV+ comedy Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet, which satirizes the people who create these elaborate fantasy worlds.
I Quit (10/9c, Discovery): These aren’t quitters, they’re strivers, giving up their 9-to-5 jobs or comfortable retirements to chase a dream. A new docuseries follows six sets of entrepreneurs over a year as they go into business for themselves: owning a semi-pro soccer team, marketing a wine for Black consumers, developing a “versatile attire” line of athleisure dress shirts, creating a brand for Brazilian truffles or outdoor coolers or trying to break into the crowded BBQ sauce marketplace. They’re not going it alone. I Quit enlists three business leaders — the COO of Shopify, the CEO of children’s multimedia company GoldieBlox and the CEO of creative/tech agency WP Narrative — to show them the ropes.
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (11/10c, HBO): Airing an hour later, the monthly sports newsmagazine returns to profile several intriguing personalities. Subjects include Nnamdi Asomugha, the former NFL cornerback who’s now making a name for himself in the entertainment industry, alongside wife Kerry Washington (Scandal); Bruce Maxwell, the former Oakland Athletics catcher and current Mets player who experienced serious backlash after becoming the first MLB player to kneel during the national anthem; and Eddy Alverez, the Olympic speedskating medalist who took a circuitous route to playing baseball in the major leagues. On a lighter note, Real Sports revisits baseball superfan and “ballhawk” Zack Hample, who isn’t letting Covid-19 slow him down in his pursuit of catching wayward balls. Now he’s trying to add to his collection from outside the stadium.
Inside Tuesday TV: For true-crime fans, Sundance Now streams the four-part Canadian docuseries The Suspect, which follows the fate of Dennis Oland as he awaits retrial in the case of his wealthy father’s 2011 murder, for which he was accused, convicted and spent 10 months in jail before the retrial was ordered… Airing an hour earlier, ABC’s hidden-camera What Would You Do? (9/8c) addresses another hot-button topic — vaccine or no vaccine — when a teenager begs his anti-vaccine mother to let him get a shot. Will bystanders stand up for him?… Happy tidings on HGTV’s Good Bones (9/8c) when Indianapolis renovator/real-estate agent Mina Starsiak Hawk gets the good news she and fans have been longing to hear: She’s pregnant with her second child… In the final round of TBS’s Celebrity Show-Off (10/9c), Jason Mraz, Kevin Smith and Tori Spelling battle it out for bragging rights — and to raise money for their respective charities… Among the featured speakers on the second night of the Democratic National Convention (check local listings for times): firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, former President Bill Clinton and former second lady Dr. Jill Biden.
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services