What to Watch Friday: 20/20 interviews family from Bear Brook murder mystery
Dateline: NBC (9 p.m., NBC) - In this new report from Keith Morrison, the Valseca siblings talk about how their mother faced a band of international criminals when their father was taken hostage in an orchestrated abduction.
20/20 (9 p.m., ABC) - ABC reports on the Bear Brook State Park murder mystery in New Hampshire that started in 1985 with the discovery of the first of two barrels containing the bodies of a woman and three children. The mystery was eventually solved with clues provided by DNA technology and a 5-year-old girl (podcast fans may know this story from the Bear Brook podcast). 20/20 has an exclusive interview with Diane Kloepfer, the daughter of Terry Rasmussen, the serial killer linked to the case. The report also has interviews with siblings of victims Marlyse Honeychurch and the with the father of presumed victim, Denise Beaudin.
The Banker (Apple TV+) - In this new movie, inspired by true events, revolutionary businessman Bernard Garrett (Anthony Mackie) and Joe Morris (Samuel L. Jackson), devise an audacious and risky plan to take on the racist establishment of the 1960s by helping other African Americans pursue the American dream. Along with Garrett’s wife Eunice (Nia Long), they train a working class white man, Matt Steiner (Nicholas Hoult), to pose as the rich and privileged face of their burgeoning real estate and banking empire – while Garrett and Morris pose as a janitor and a chauffeur. Their success ultimately draws the attention of the federal government, which threatens everything the four have built.
Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker (Netflix) - Academy Award-winner Octavia Spencer stars as Madam C.J. Walker, the trailblazing African American haircare entrepreneur who was America’s first female self-made millionaire. Inspired by the book, “On Her Own Ground” written by Walker’s great-great-granddaughter A’Lelia Bundles, the Netflix original series brings the uplifting story of this cultural icon to the screen for the first time. Against all odds, Walker overcame post-slavery racial and gender biases, personal betrayals, and business rivalries to build a ground-breaking brand that revolutionized black haircare, as she simultaneously fought for social change. The four-part limited series also stars Blair Underwood as her husband C.J. Walker, Tiffany Haddish as her daughter Leila, Carmen Ejogo as Walker’s business rival Addie Monroe, Garrett Morris as Walker’s father-in-law, Kevin Carroll as her longtime lawyer Ransom and Bill Bellamy as Ransom’s cousin Sweetness.
Blow the Man Down (Amazon Prime) - This original movie takes us to Easter Cove, a fishing village on Maine’s rocky coast, where two sisters are grieving the loss of their mother and facing an uncertain future while also trying to cover up a gruesome run-in with a dangerous man. To conceal their crime, the sisters must uncover the town matriarch’s darkest secrets. It stars Morgan Saylor, Sophie Lowe with June Squibb and Margo Martindale.
Some programming descriptions are provided by networks.
