Nathan for You
Nathan Fielder saves struggling businesses by taking the longest possible route for the shortest possible gain. In one instance, he enticed customers to fill up at a particular gas station by lowering prices. But the deal required a rebate—in order to cash it in, people had to hike up a mountain and answer a series of riddles. Fielder follows the old maxim: it’s about the journey, not the destination.
Returns Thu 9/21, 9 PM, Comedy Central
Stranger Things
Despite its convoluted sci-fi plot, Netflix’s Stranger Things has become a sensation even among people who aren’t fans of the genre, in the same way Game of Thrones has brought fantasy to a larger audience. Last season theories flew around Facebook like engagement-ring selfies. And it earned the coveted conversational prize: no spoilers!
Returns to Netflix Fri 10/27, 2 AM
Search Party
Alia Shawkat, who memorably portrayed Maeby Fünke on Arrested Development, stars in this dark comedy-drama that became a sleeper among critics. When Chantal, a girl in her early 20s, is said to have died, Shawkat’s character, Dory, who went to high school with Chantal, becomes skeptical and sets off to find her. Dory’s obsession bleeds into the rest of her life, especially her relationship with Drew, played by Chicago improv expat John Reynolds. He’s her levelheaded foil—a strikingly subdued role for Reynolds, who typically plays big, scene-stealing characters.
Returns Sun 11/19, 9 PM, TBS
The Opposition
Chicago veteran Jordan Klepper stands out as a correspondent on The Daily Show, and not just because of his tall hair. He takes controversial subjects to the extreme, poking America-size holes in pundits’ talking points and conspiracy theories. Leading up to the 2016 election, he attended Trump rallies, earnestly seeking to understand the candidate’s followers, and stumbled on one man who adamantly argued that Obama should be ashamed he wasn’t in the Oval Office during 9/11. (Um . . . ) This fall Klepper will star in The Opposition, occupying the former Colbert Report and Nightly Show slot and satirizing the concept of “fake news” on both sides of the left-right divide.
Debuts Mon 9/25, 10:30 PM, Comedy Central
At Home With Amy Sedaris
The onetime Chicagoan—and alum of the Annoyance Theatre and Second City—launches a caricature version of a Martha Stewart program with the help of other Chicago talents. Rachel Dratch, Scott Adsit, and Dave Pasquesi are slated to appear, and the show is coproduced by Paul Dinello, who previously joined Sedaris and Stephen Colbert in creating the sketch show Exit 57 and the lauded Strangers With Candy. Anything goes on At Home, where crafting, cooking, cleaning, and adventurous sexual positions are demonstrated for viewers to follow along with, much like Sedaris’s two DIY homemaking books, Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People (2011) and I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence (2008). Grab some yarn and a lovemaking wedge.
Debuts Tue 10/24, 9:30 PM, truTV v