TV Daily

Salon's guide to what to watch on Friday and this weekend: IFC's oddball comedy "The Business" has its quirky charms.

Published August 24, 2007 10:20AM (EDT)

Prime Pick

Photo: IFC

Sunday: Now that all of the boutique cable channels have started to churn out their own little dramas and comedies, it's impossible to keep track of them all, and few have the kinds of redeeming qualities that render them worthy of comment. Like many of the smaller cable shows, IFC's "The Business" (airs 11 p.m. EDT on Sundays) can be uneven, manic, hammy and somewhat amateurish, but it still has its distinct, quirky charms. Whether or not you enjoy the bizarre antics of Vic's Flicks, an independent film company run by a bunch of self-serving maniacs (at least that part of the show is realistic) depends largely on your familiarity with Hollywood -- and, of course, your taste for oddball comedies.

Also…

A new season of "Real Time With Bill Maher" (11 p.m. EDT on HBO) kicks off on Friday. Maher's guests for the occasion: Tim Robbins and the Weekly Standard's Stephen F. Hayes.

Weekend Picks

Lifetime's original telefilm "The Murder of Princess Diana" (premieres Saturday at 9 p.m. EDT) presents a fictionalized account of Noel Botham's book, which claims that the car crash that killed Diana, Dodi Fayed and their chauffeur wasn't an accident. Also on Saturday night, Bob Saget attempts to mess with his goody-two-shoes image with a filthy standup special called "That Ain't Right" (premieres at 10 p.m. EDT on HBO). On Sunday, the sci-fi drama "The 4400" airs at 9 p.m. EDT on USA, and the first season finale of "Jekyll" airs on BBC America at 9 p.m. EDT.

On the talk shows -- Friday

Regis and Kelly

ABC, 9 a.m. EDT

John Travolta, Blake Lewis, Emma Roberts, Kevin Connolly (repeat)

The View

ABC, 11 a.m. EDT

Richard Lewis, guest co-host Sherri Shepherd (repeat)

Ellen DeGeneres

Syndicated, check local listings

Forest Whitaker, Billy Blanks Jr. (repeat)

Oprah Winfrey

Syndicated, check local listings

"This Is the Year to Live Well With Colin Cowie" (repeat)

Charlie Rose

PBS, check local listings

Sir Emyr Jones Parry, Norman Pearlstine

Larry King

CNN, 9 p.m. EDT

TBA

Bill Maher

HBO, 11 p.m. EDT

Tim Robbins, Stephen F. Hayes

David Letterman

CBS, 11:30 p.m. EDT

Tom Arnold, Kristin Gore, Jim McDonald

Jay Leno

NBC, 11:35 p.m. EDT

Jessica Biel, Bill Engval, T-Pain (repeat)

Tavis Smiley

PBS, check local listings

Lonnie Ali, Lisa See

Jimmy Kimmel

ABC, 12:05 a.m. EDT

Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Fred Savage, Eldar (repeat)

Conan O'Brien

NBC, 12:35 a.m. EDT

Dane Cook, Apolo Anton Ohno

Craig Ferguson

CBS, 12:35 a.m. EDT

Holly Hunter, Adam Goldberg, Ferraby Lionheart

Contributors: Matthew Fishbane, Heather Havrilesky, Amy Reiter


By Salon Staff

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