There’s blood in the watering hole. Again! The new nature documentary series “Predator v Prey” (8 p.m. Saturday, BBC America and AMC+, TV-PG) returns to familiar scenes of slaughter in the heart of Africa, where apex predators like lions, cheetahs and crocodiles feast on zebras, antelope and gazelles.
There are plenty of scenes of deadly ambush, chase and killing, but the emphasis here is on the skills and strategies that have evolved over millennia to give these hunters the upper hand — or paw, if you will. On the other side, their victims have also been endowed by evolution with strategies of their own, making these hunting dramas a master class in escape and survival.
Every generation gets the nature series it deserves. The visual effects here are heavy on CGI graphics, all the better to discuss each specimen in detail.
Time was, predators were discussed in military terms, their aggressive actions likened to merciless armies. It’s not a mystery why the Nazi army named their tanks after tigers or dubbed whole divisions as would-be panthers. With memories (or interest) in that war receding, “Predator v Prey” unfolds like a true-crime drama. The emphasis here is on forensics. The narration by Howard Charles (“Whitstable Pearl”) is consistently ominous. We’re talking about serial killers and their victims. It’s a jungle out there.
— Produced by Jimmy Kimmel, “High Hopes” begins streaming on Hulu. A reality series that puts the emphasis on workplace dynamics, it follows the routine at MMD, one of the oldest and best-established marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles. Run by Slava and Mishka, immigrants from Belarus, it features the usual number of types, such as a no-nonsense manager and “bud-tender” and a former bouncer with a tendency to mess up but who has been all but adopted by the owner’s father, the “higher power” behind this stoner emporium.
Released to coincide with 4/20, the traditional day of weed-centric celebration, “Hopes” wisely dispenses with stoner humor. It opens with the first day of work of a new employee, a newcomer from Michigan who describes himself as an “all-day, every day” user of the product. His pipe dream is quickly dashed when he is curtly informed that getting high on the job is strictly forbidden.
The relatively new legality of the shop offers some peculiar complications, but for the most part “High Hopes” is a workplace comedy that tends to avoid the central question: Is marijuana use funny? A generation ago, the Rat Pack and other night club entertainers traded in jokes about booze, but it never occurred to anyone to set a show in a liquor store. “Cheers,” arguably the most popular series ever set in a bar, was paradoxically sober in its humor.
In some ways, “High Hopes” is as much about marijuana as “The Osbournes” was about heavy metal. The notion of a late-night talk show host producing a series about immigrant shop owners is hardly new. For years, David Letterman mined comedy from his awkward interactions with Mujibur and Sirajul, proprietors of the souvenir shop located just outside his studio. You don’t need to inhale to find “High Hopes” rather familiar.
— Slow-burn docuseries about true crimes and audacious criminals have become so commonplace it’s difficult to recall how riveting “The Jinx” was when it appeared on HBO in 2015. Now, after nearly a decade, “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” (10 p.m. Sunday, HBO, TV-14) returns.
As many fans of the original already know, the series had a profound impact on its subject, suspected murderer Robert Durst, who tried to flee the country as the original series concluded. “Jinx” 2.0 recalls his flight, arrest and subsequent conviction, and marinates viewers in an entourage of Durst confidantes who go to great lengths to display their loyalty to their very wealthy friend.
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— Check listings for regional United Football League action (8 p.m., Fox).
— A doting mother has a nagging worry about her beloved offspring in the 2024 shocker “My Child Has My Doctor’s Face” (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— Ditched at the altar, a woman proceeds to the honeymoon destination alone in the 2024 romance “Falling in Love in Niagara” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— The Denver Nuggets host the Los Angeles Lakers in NBA action (8:30 p.m., ABC).
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS).
— Two boys are found abandoned at a church on “Call the Midwife” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings).
— The count undertakes a dangerous mission on “A Gentleman in Moscow” (8 p.m., Showtime, TV-14).
— A coalition gathers strength on “Mr Bates vs The Post Office” on “Masterpiece” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings).
— The life as an exile in Los Angeles makes the captain’s role as a mole doubly complicated on “The Sympathizer” (9 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
— Gray faces a painful choice on “Parish” (9 p.m., AMC, TV-MA).
— A wife proposes an “open marriage” on the season finale of “What Would You Do?” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— Friends look back at a decade on the series finale of “Alice & Jack” on “Masterpiece” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings).
CULT CHOICE
A soldier (Joseph Cotton) falls in love with a woman (Jennifer Jones) with a double personality accused of killing his best friend in the 1945 noir mystery “Love Letters” (9:45 p.m. Sunday, TCM, TV-14), directed by William Dieterle, produced by Hal Wallis and written by Ayn Rand. While popular, it was dismissed as “sentimental twaddle” by the New York Times.
SATURDAY SERIES
On two episodes of “Fire Country” (CBS, r, TV-14): flames approach a chemical plant (8 p.m.); a rare fire tornado looms (9 p.m.) … “The Wall” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … “NBA Countdown” (8 p.m., ABC) … “Weakest Link” (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … “48 Hours” (10 p.m., CBS) … Repeat episodes of “Saturday Night Live” (10 p.m., and 11:30 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
SUNDAY SERIES
A Chinese diplomat is found poisoned on “The Equalizer” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … Homer gathers the gang from Moe’s to scatter the ashes of a departed friend on “The Simpsons” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … The Muses are not amused on “Krapopolis” (8:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
A case scares up the world of amateur ghost hunting on “Tracker” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … A trip within a trip on “The Great North” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … A former child star is accused of a news anchor’s murder on “Grimsburg” (9:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … “Dateline” (10 p.m., NBC, r) … A crime scene sends the Geiger counters clicking on “CSI: Vegas” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
