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What to Watch Friday: New ESPN docuseries follows Savannah Banana baseball antics

Here’s what to watch tonight.

Bananaland (9 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN+)

This fun special series goes behind the scenes with the most entertaining minor league baseball team in the history of diamond shenanigans: The Savannah Bananas of the Coastal Plain League.

If you’re not familiar with the Savanna Bananas, let’s just say there’s a lot of choreographed, on-field dancing.

From ESPN: “Capturing the origins of the Bananas’ wild, new style of baseball, Bananaland follows the team’s owners, players, coaches and staff as they embark on a seven-city ‘World Tour’ in their quest to bring the revolutionary rules and extravagant showmanship of Banana Ball to the masses.”

The series features former MLB stars who make appearances playing for the Bananas, including Bill Lee, Jake Peavy, Jonny Gomes and others.

We get five episodes in all. Tonight’s premiere is on ESPN2 and ESPN+, but the four remaining episodes are only on ESPN+, with new episodes each Friday through Sept. 16. (ESPN+ is a subscription streaming service that starts at $6.99 per month: plus.espn.com).

Rise (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+)

Premiered Aug. 18: This Disney+ Original movie is based on the real-life story of a family that included three brothers who became NBA champions: Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, and former Los Angeles Laker player Kostas Antetokounmpo.

After emigrating from Nigeria to Greece, parents Charles and Vera Antetokounmpo struggled to raise five children while working to obtain Greek citizenship. Brothers Giannis (Uche Agada) and Thanasis (Ral Agada) played basketball with a local youth team and worked to become world class athletes, along with brother Kostas (Jaden Osimuwa). Giannis entered the NBA Draft in 2013 and eight years later, Giannis and Thanasis helped bring the Milwaukee Bucks their first NBA championship in 50 years.

Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)

Premiered Aug. 18: A new dark comedy murder mystery series following the lives of the Garvey sisters, who are bound together by the premature death of their parents and a promise to always protect one another. It stars Sharon Horgan (who was phenomenal in “Catastrophe”) along with Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene and Eve Hewson as the Garvey sisters.

Viral Joshi of Durham NC in Season 2 of “Indian Matchmaking” on Netflix.
Viral Joshi of Durham NC in Season 2 of “Indian Matchmaking” on Netflix.

Indian Matchmaking (Netlflix)

Premiered Aug. 10: Season 2 of this popular reality series, which showcases young Indian professionals looking for mates, dropped last week with a neat surprise: a Durham woman is one of this season’s most interesting stars.

Viral Joshi, a 30-year-old pharmaceutical developer who lives and works in Durham, enlisted the services of matchmaker Sima Taparia of Mumbai to find her perfect match. The show tracks Viral’s journey along with several other men and women, with the ultimate goal, of course, being a proposal.

Three different men travel to Durham from different parts of the country to meet Viral, and we tag along on their dates. Does she find love?

Some programming descriptions are provided by networks.

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