Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, July 25th 2025:
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 'HURRICANE KATRINA: RACE AGAINST TIME'
On Sunday, NatGeo will premiere the five-part documentary series Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time, which skillfully recounts the storm from before landfall to the aftermath years after Katrina moved on. Directed by Traci A. Curry, the story is told entirely through the voices of the people who experienced it firsthand.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Curry, as well as Shelton Alexander, a resident of New Orleans who used his video camera to document his entire journey through Katrina into the present day.
Here is a portion of my conversation with Curry, which has been lightly edited for clarity:
I've been thinking about that last episode, which really deals a lot with the aftermath of Katrina. And it really sort of fits into your other work, this idea of elevating people who don't have a voice. And telling stories that maybe wouldn't be told otherwise.
And I suspect as a filmmaker, that doesn't put pressure on you, but it makes you mindful of being able to elevate them in a way that tells the story, but also elevates the people who lived through it.
Traci A. Curry: Yeah, I think what is attractive to me in my work in general and with this film is that I really like to explore the ways that systems and institutions can constrain the circumstances of people's lives and cause harm. But it's a really kind of an unwieldy thing to get your head around. Because what is a system?
What is an institution? It kind of works very implicitly in a sort of invisible way. And I think when you can put in the foreground the people who are affected and allow them to tell their stories, then it kind of manifests these institutions.
And I think in episode five in particular, it really gets to the core of what we're trying to communicate in this, which is that so much of the things that caused harm during and after Katrina were not about the storm at all, actually. These are things that pre-existed and exist today, like poverty, like discriminatory housing policy. And so what happens is you have this well-meaning policy in the Road Home Program that gave people grant money to restore themselves.
But because they tied it to this housing policy that, again, predated Katrina and devalues your home if your Black self lived in it, it led to this disparate outcome in how people were able to recover. And so for me, the ability to make very explicit those systems and institutions by focusing on the individuals who are impacted and letting them explain it, that is the most delicious place to live for me as a filmmaker.
And here is part of my conversation with Alexander:
Shelton, even though it's been 20 years, I suspect it's still hard to think about a lot of these events. And was was it difficult for you to sit down and and replay these things and talk about them? Or is it a little easier with time?
Shelton Alexander. I don't know. It seemed like it's not getting that much easier because as I was trying to recover, I lost my mom. And if I start opening up and talking about my mom and my memories, it's just gonna come out.
I mean, it's just a natural reaction. You know, it's what I feel. I just thought my mom was going to be here forever. She just meant the world to me. She taught me everything. I'm just glad she was able to get out.
So I had to go through it. But then after that, she passed away. I finally moved from New Orleans six years ago.
I've been in Houston, Texas for six years. Because I just didn't want to see it all the time. I ran an open mic spot for 16 years in New Orleans to make sure people had a platform and a stage. I kept the New Orleans Slam team alive. I have the memories of different poets in the city, their voices and their stories. But yes, it's always difficult to actually have to look at it and relive it.
Then at some point I got to see some of the film. And I've seen some people that did pass away. Just in my neighborhood, my cousin to the right, my neighbor up the block and my neighbor across the street. They all passed away.
Some of the people that you're going to see in some of my videos are gone. But to see them again and for them to come alive. It brings you to a good place and reminds me that we all used to just have a good time.
Then soon that good feeling goes away. And man, the emotional part is going to kick in and I think, "Oh man, they're not here. They're not here to celebrate it."
So it's still tough. Anything can happen. I'm just encouraging people to open up. And maybe you're just going to have to break down and cry sometimes, but guess what?
You're going to wake up and you're going to live to fight another day soon.
GBH PAUSES PRODUCTION OF NEW EPISODES OF 'AMERICAN EXPERIENCE'
The recently passed clawback of federal funding for public media is beginning to have an effect of ongoing national PBS programming. On Friday, Susan Goldberg, the president and CEO of GBH, said in a statement that while the 37th season of American Experience will premiere as planned, funding cuts will force the show to "broadcast and stream a collection of the best and most popular American Experience films and offer vivid digital content for America’s 250th anniversary." The pause in production also led to the loss of 13 jobs related to the series.
American Experience has won 30 Emmys and 19 Peabody awards.
NO ONE REDEEMED THEMESELVES DURING THE PRESS TOUR FOR 'THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS'
I've written before about my dislike of press junkets, where journalists often only get five minutes to ask a couple of questions before the stars move on to the next journalist. The hyper-abbreviated process means that the stars hear the same questions again and again while journalists try to game the system by asking odd questions they hope will create some snippet of virality for their reporting.
But as this piece in Salon notes, the recent press tour for the movie The Fantastic Four: First Steps has been more deranged than normal. Even for a Marvel film:
With so much in flux, it’s no wonder that Marvel press tours are often disorderly, and “First Steps” is no exception. Granted, actors tire of repeating the same press-ready soundbites about their characters throughout these exhaustive tours, and that’s where the interviewer should ostensibly come in to save the day, asking something thoughtful that will probe an actor to deliver an equally considerate response. To put it lightly, that has not been the case with “First Steps.” A 10-minute-or-less junket slot isn’t much time, but it’s certainly not nothing. And yet, the latest Marvel press tour has seen an influx of strange press moments, plucked from interviews that seem as though they’re seeking the same virality as Garner’s Silver Surfer line. In an interview with Australia’s Pedestrian TV, star Pedro Pascal had to jump in to teach his co-lead Vanessa Kirby what a “c*nty” expression was, after the interviewer startled Kirby by telling her she had — here we go again — become viral for her “c*nty, snatched face.” Weird, maybe. Unprofessional, sure. But the worst thing is that the question has nothing to do with the film at all.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Last weekend, MCU fans, Pascal punks and journalists alike spent their afternoons lambasting the millionth time Pascal has been asked about the “Daddy” title the internet hoisted onto him. Pascal is, unfortunately, no stranger to these questions, which seem to follow him on every press tour. He knows how to play them off, but Kirby looked confused and bored, almost like she was hoping the question might’ve actually been something thoughtful about Pascal’s role as a new father in the film. Throw in another junket slot where an interviewer admitted to using AI for his research, and you’re looking at a train that not even the Fantastic Four’s Sue Storm could use her forcefield powers to keep on the tracks.
As someone who considers himself to be a thoughtful interviewer, these questions are frightening.
ODDS AND SODS
* Vince Gilligan’s new Apple TV+ sci-fi series Pluribus will premiere on Friday, November 7th. The series has already been picked up for a second season.
* On Friday at San Diego Comic-Con, Prime Video premiered the trailer for season two of Gen V, which will premiere on Wednesday, September 17th. Here is the official season two logline: "In Season Two, school is back in session. As the rest of America adjusts to Homelander's iron fist, back at Godolkin University, the mysterious new Dean preaches a curriculum that promises to make students more powerful than ever. Cate and Sam are celebrated heroes, while Marie, Jordan, and Emma reluctantly return to college, burdened by months of trauma and loss. But parties and classes are hard to care about with war brewing between Humans and Supes, both on and off campus. The gang learns of a secret program that goes back to the founding of Godolkin University that may have larger implications than they realize. And, somehow, Marie is a part of it."
* AMC has renewed The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon for a fourth and final season.
* The new unscripted series A Sorority Mom’s Guide to Rush! premieres Monday, August 11th on Lifetime. Here is the official logline: "Each hour-long episode follows two mother-daughter duos as they navigate the emotionally charged path towards their goal sorority. Bringing guidance, glam and a lot of honesty to the journey are two breakout names from the world of Rush: New York Times profiled consultant Bill Alverson and The Queen of #RushTok, Brandis Bradley. With their expertise, they help these families prepare their daughters to make a lasting impression to land a spot in their top-tier house. These moms, daughters and even grandmothers and siblings will do anything it takes to help get them accepted into their legacy sororities, making them sisters in every sense. A Sorority Mom’s Guide to Rush! goes beyond the filters and fanfare to reveal the love, legacy and ambition that drives these women to do whatever it takes for that coveted spot."
* The sixth and final season of Solar Opposites will premiere Monday, October 13th on Hulu.
* Adult Swim announced today that Keith David will star in the new animated series President Curtis, set in the Rick And Morty universe. Here is the official logline: "President Curtis follows the Commander-in-Chief and his eccentric staff as they tackle the kind of crises that Rick Sanchez could never be bothered with - from interdimensional diplomacy to paranormal investigations and unexplained phenomena."
* The theatrical film Final Destination Bloodlines will get its streaming premiere Friday, August 1st on HBO Max.
* At the SDCC on Friday, Starz premiered a first look at season eight of Outlander, which will debut next year.
WHAT'S NEW THIS WEEKEND
SATURDAY, JULY 26TH:
* Attack Of The Devil Shark (Discovery)
* Battle For Shark Mountain (Discovery)
* Before Your Father Finds Us (Lifetime)
SUNDAY, JULY 27TH:
* Dead Girl Summer (Lifetime)
* Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (NatGeo)
* In The Eye Of The Storm (Discovery)
* Naked And Afraid: Apocalypse Series Premiere (Discovery)
MONDAY, JULY 28TH:
* Dope Girls Series Premiere (Hulu)
* The Wonderfully Weird World Of Gumball (Hulu)
SEE YOU ON MONDAY!