What to Watch on TV this Weekend: Chloe's Guide

Aug. 5-7, 2016

Here are a few suggestions for what to watch this upcoming weekend.

2016 Summer Olympics Primetime

Friday, Aug. 5 – NBC – 7:30 p.m.

The opening ceremony for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro airs Aug. 5, but at times, controversies surrounding the Olympic Games have threatened to overshadow the event's quadrennial purpose: to honor the world's best athletes and celebrate these individuals' glory and record-setting accomplishments. The opening ceremony is scheduled to feature welcoming speeches, the hoisting of flags, the parade of athletes and a showcasing of Brazilian culture. Journalists Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira and Hoda Kotb are set to report on the event. Entertainment has, in the past, included light shows, music acts, choreographed dance performances and appearances by former, Olympic medalists. The anticipated broadcast, an expected four-and-a-half-hour production, will take place at Maracanã Stadium, which first opened in 1950 for the FIFA World Cup.

The Great Gatsby (2013)

Saturday, Aug. 6 – TNT – 8 p.m.

When I read The Great Gatsby as part of an assignment for my then-upcoming, sophomore year of high school, I didn't — or simply couldn't — appreciate the author's magnum opus for what it was, a tale of indulgence, social upheaval and idealism. What's more, never did I imagine that I would encounter the story again later in my life, its utility reshaped — less material, more intimate. The 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald gained newfound attention in Baz Luhrmann's stylized 2013 adaptation, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton (Midnight Special, Exodus: Gods and Kings), Isla Fisher (Now You See Me) and Carey Mulligan (Drive, Suffragette). The predominantly faithful film explores the irony surrounding the American Dream with all the aesthetic, poetic charms that a Luhrmann (Rome + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!) production typically employs.

Parks and Recreation (2009-2015)

Sunday, Aug. 7 – Esquire– 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

I first sunk my teeth into NBC's Parks and Recreation in 2013, well into the show's routine airings, but I did not acquire a taste for it until a months-long lapse and eventual revisit to the show's first season. Parks and Recreation was a welcome transition for fans of The Office; the former utilized a mockumentary-style development of story line, similar to that of The Office, that followed a group of coworkers, led by department head Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) living in the small, fictional town of Pawnee, Ind. I followed can-do optimist Leslie, the lovable Andy (Chris Pratt), the aloof April (Aubrey Plaza), Libertarian man's man Ron (Nick Offerman), comically charming Tom (Aziz Ansari) and others through seven seasons of Emmy-nominated, heart-warming hilarity. Sunday, Aug. 7, fans and neophytes alike will have the opportunity to experience the hijinks of Parks and Recreation's eclectic cast.

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