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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Around the Remote: Olympians share post-Games struggles in new documentary

By Chuck Barney Tribune News Service

DON’T MISS: “The Weight of Gold.” If not for the pandemic, many of us would be in front of our TVs this week and riveted to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. This compelling documentary, narrated by legendary swimmer Michael Phelps, explores the mental health challenges that many world-class athletes confront in their quest for Olympic glory. “A good 80%, maybe more, go through some kind of post-Olympic depression,” Phelps says in the film. He, along with fellow American standouts such as Shaun White, Lolo Jones, Gracie Gold, Bode Miller and Sasha Cohen, share intimate accounts of their struggles. (9 p.m. Wednesday, HBO).

Other bets

SUNDAY: “Helter Skelter: An American Myth” is touted as the “most comprehensive telling of the Charles Manson family ever put on screen.” It’s a six-part documentary series that examines why, after 50 years, Manson’s ragtag group of hippies and their two-night murder spree still fascinates and perplexes us. (10 p.m., Epix).

SUNDAY: When the new season of “Wynonna Earp” begins, it’s crunch time for our title heroine. She desperately needs to find a way into the Garden of Eden before her sister, Waverly, is trapped forever. (10 p.m., Syfy).

MONDAY: On the new series “Into the Unknown,” survivalist Cliff Simon explores paranormal mysteries in some of the world’s most extreme and challenging environments. First stop: the Louisiana bayou, where legend has it that a werewolf-like creature called Rougarou lurks. (11 p.m., Travel Channel).

TUESDAY: Season 5 of the acclaimed documentary series “Last Chance U” takes viewers to Oakland for “a raw, authentic look” at the junior college football program at Laney College. As the series begins, coach John Beam’s Eagles are coming off a national championship, but plenty of obstacles lie ahead. (Netflix).

TUESDAY: In “Tell Me a Story,” classic fairy tales are reimagined as a dark and twisted psychological thriller. Set in modern-day New York City, Season 1 interweaves “The Three Little Pigs,” “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Hansel and Gretel” into a subversive saga of love, loss, greed, revenge and murder. (9 p.m., The CW).

WEDNESDAY: Season 1 of “Ultimate Tag” has, at times, resembled a human demolition derby. Tonight, the competition comes to an end as the “taggers” chase down the last male and female contestants seeking to take home cash prizes. (9 p.m., Fox).

THURSDAY: It’s the battle of Los Angeles … in Florida. The NBA season finally resumes inside the so-called Disney World bubble with no fans in the stands. Of the day’s eight games, the most enticing one pits the Lakers against the Clippers in a matchup of title contenders. (6 p.m. PT; 9 p.m. ET, TNT).

FRIDAY: As Season 2 of “The Umbrella Academy” begins, the superpowered Hargreeves siblings are scattered in and around Dallas following the crazy time jump. Now, they must find a way to reunite, figure out what caused doomsday, put a stop to it and return to the present day – all while being hunted by a trio of ruthless Swedish assassins. (Netflix).

FRIDAY: “The Go-Go’s” is a new documentary that’s definitely got the beat. It follows the meteoric rise of the iconic all-female rock band from the Los Angeles punk scene to the top of the album charts, and recounts the disharmony that followed. (9 p.m., Showtime).

SATURDAY: The Oscar-winning comedy-drama “Jojo Rabbit” makes its TV debut. It follows a 10-year-old German boy (Roman Griffin Davis) who yearns to be a Nazi and conjures up an imaginary friend – a zany version of Adolf Hitler. Scarlett Johansson plays the boy’s anti-Nazi mom. (8 p.m., HBO).