What to Watch on Thursday: Seth Rogen(s) find themselves in An American Pickle
We know TV has a lot to offer, be it network, cable, premium channels, or streaming platforms including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Facebook Watch, and others. So EW is here to help, guiding you every single day to the things that should be on your radar. Check out our recommendations below, and click here to learn how you can stream our picks via your own voice-controlled smart-speaker (Alexa, Google Home) or podcast app (Spotify, iTunes, Google Play).
An American Pickle
HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on HBO Max
What happens when a man falls in a pickling vat, stays there for 100 years, and wakes up from his preserved slumber to a world of Uber shares and smartphones? That’s the basic premise of Seth Rogen’s latest, a surreal fish-out-of-water (or if you like, fish-out-of-a-nice-dill-vinegar-brine) comedy, in which he takes on the roles of both an Old World immigrant named Herschel Greenbaum and his millennial great-grandson, a Brooklyn app developer named Ben. The script, based on a short story by former SNL staff writer Simon Rich, sprung in part from Rogen’s own connection to the past: “My grandfather was in World War II, he was a professional football player,” the 38-year-old actor tells EW. “And if he had met me when we were both in our mid-thirties he probably would have beaten the s—t out of me, and I think that that is something that I really thought a lot about with these characters. I mean, he could tear an apple in half with his bare hands. He was a very strong, tough guy and I am not, and that’s something I really tried to channel.” —Leah Greenblatt
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Star Trek: Lower Decks
HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on CBS All Access
Series Debut
The first Star Trek comedy series takes full advantage of its animated format, employing plenty of bonkers mayhem to chronicle the adventures of working-class crew members on the USS Cerritos. The main focus of the first couple episodes is a pair of mismatched ensigns: Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), a hyperactive ultra-competent rebel, and Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), an ambitious rule-following braggart. Expect plenty of inside jokes and deep-cut references for Trek fans and a somewhat surprising amount of slightly risqué humor (such as a holodeck workout program full of nude trainees). Showrunner Mike McMahan also beams over at least one storytelling habit from his last show, Rick and Morty, which is the tendency for most scenes to abruptly segue into a wild sci-fi action, a tic that one might either find exhilarating or grating. —James Hibberd
Related content:
Star Trek: Lower Decks might include favorite Next Generation characters
Watch the U.S.S. Cerritos take flight in first trailer for Star Trek: Lower Decks
What ELSE to Watch
8 p.m.
Killer Camp — The CW
Double Shot at Love with DJ Pauly D & Vinny — MTV
9 p.m.
Don't — ABC
The Real Housewives of New York City — Bravo
10 p.m.
To Tell the Truth — ABC
Streaming
On the Trail: Inside the 2020 Primaries (documentary) — HBO Max
Elmo's Playdate: Scavenger Hunt (special) — HBO Max
Hitmen (series debut) — Peacock
Upright (U.S. debut) — Sundance Now
*times are ET and subject to change
