What to Watch Friday: 20/20 examines child kidnapping case that changed the nation
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Here’s what’s on TV tonight.
20/20: Snatched (9 p.m., ABC)
ABC News’ Deborah Roberts looks at the 1989 kidnapping of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling — a case that took nearly 30 years to be solved.
Jacob was abducted by an armed, masked man just a half-mile from his home, while biking with his brother and best friend. The case became Minnesota’s most notorious kidnapping case. It captured national attention and “changed the way parents raised their kids,” said ABC.
According to ABC, the program reveals new details of the investigation and a shocking confession to Jacob’s kidnapping and murder, and is “the first comprehensive account of the investigation.” The episode features interviews with Jacob’s parents, a witness to Jacob’s abduction, and a blogger who pushed for a review of the case.
How to stream: This is available the next day on Hulu.
Dateline: The Footprint at the Lake (9 p.m., NBC)
Andrea Canning reports on the murder of beloved Texas high school teacher, Manuela Allen, in Olney, Texas, in early July 2019. Allen was stabbed and then strangled to death, according to Texas officials. She was first reported missing and her body was found later at Lake Cooper, about 5 miles northwest of Olney, according to local reports.
18-year-old Julius Orion Xavier Mullins was arrested and confessed to the crime. Mullins played football at Allen’s high school and was a former boyfriend of Allen’s daughter.
The report includes an exclusive interview with Mullins. Also interviewed, family members, Texas Ranger Michael Schraub and others.
How to stream: This is available the next day on Peacock.
Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+)
This new 1950s-set eight-episode limited series stars Brie Larson as Elizabeth Zott, a woman who dreamed of being a scientist but was not given the opportunities because of her gender. When she’s fired from a lab, she takes a job hosting a TV cooking show, and “sets out to teach a nation of overlooked housewives — and the men who are suddenly listening — a lot more than recipes.”
The first two episodes are available today and subsequent episodes will debut each Friday through Nov. 24.
Some programming descriptions are provided by networks.
This story was originally published October 13, 2023 at 7:11 AM.
