What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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T4 WHATS UP! April 2 - 8, 2023 REAL TV BY ALEX HENDRY TV Media Appointment viewing: Pag- ing all popaholics — Dr. Sandra Lee and her staff return for a ninth season of the hit reality medical series "Dr. Pimple Pop- per," premiering Wednesday, April 5, on TLC. Tackling some of the biggest (and grossest) dermatology emergencies around, the inter- net icon known as Dr. Pimple Popper helps patients reclaim their lives by fixing their skin conditions, often presenting as the largest and most extreme cases imaginable. Each episode also chronicles the emotional journeys of the patients, who are afflicted with zits, cysts, blackheads, growths, lipomas, psoriasis and more, which have often reached desperate levels by the time they seek help from Dr. Lee. Praised for her soothing voice and stellar patient bedside man- ner, Dr. Lee and the staff of her Inland Empire, California, clinic have become the de facto am- bassadors for dermatology, as made popular by Dr. Lee's viral YouTube channel that brought the internet's "pimple popping" obsession to the forefront. The program, which launched in 2018, is now a key staple in the TLC lineup, and it undoubtedly helped the network secure its third consecutive year as the most-watched network for women in the 25-54 age group. Speaking to Business Insider in 2022, Dr. Lee shared her thoughts on why the show has resonated so strongly with view- ers, saying "a lot of people focus on it because of this big splash that can happen or this craziness that occurs, but a lot of people actually watch my videos to calm them down." The new season promises to showcase more extreme and un- usual cases, including one re- quiring a special house call to treat a patient with severe stasis dermatitis. TLC has also prom- ised to pull back "the curtain a little more on Dr. Lee's personal and professional life as we get to know the woman behind the scalpel." Emotional, educational and, occasionally, a little extreme, "Dr. Pimple Popper" returns Wednesday, April 5, on TLC. A laughing matter: The streets of Hollywood aren't safe, as an epic prank battle gets un- derway on E!, where "Celebrity Prank Wars" starts up Thursday, April 6. Nick Cannon ("The Masked Singer") and Kevin Hart ("Fa- therhood," 2021) co-host and ex- ecutive produce this new come- dy-reality series, in which celeb- rities are unknowingly subjected to pranks and gags staged by fel- low famous friends. Promising to kick their friendly feud up a notch, Hart and Cannon spare no expense to unleash the most unbeliev- able, large-scale pranks imagin- able on the unsuspecting stars. With fake explosions, simulated car crashes and simple-but- classic gags, the celebrity reac- tions are sure to become viral sensations. "There's nothing besties do better than pranking each other, and that's why we created 'Ce- lebrity Prank Wars,'" the duo said in a trailer for the series. "We help our famous friends pull off the most elaborate, un- expected, adrenaline-pumping and eye-opening pranks." The pair are already ahead in the prank wars online, having initially announced the launch of the reality dating series "Who's Having My Baby?" star- ring Nick Cannon. Media out- lets and thousands of posts on social media reacted in shock, confusion and laughter in refer- ence to the recent news regard- ing Cannon's parental history. The truth: it was all a prank — the initial gag in a growing prank war between the two co- medians. In "Celebrity Prank Wars," guests/victims include Joel McHale ("Animal Control"), Tif- fany Haddish ("The Afterpar- ty"), Anthony Anderson ("Black-ish"), Nikki and Brie Bella ("Total Divas"), Taraji P. Henson ("Empire"), Robin Thicke ("The Masked Singer") and many more. Catch Kevin Hart and Nick Cannon in their escalating co- medic battle when "Celebrity Prank Wars" premieres Thurs- day, April 6, on E! Serving up history: From ace to disgrace — acclaimed filmmaker Alex Gibney profiles the life and career of tennis icon Boris Becker in the two-part documentary series "Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker," premiering Friday, April 7, on Apple TV+. Chronicling the rise and fall of a global sporting icon, Gibney has utilized over three years of exclusive access to shine a spot- light on the former No. 1 men's tennis player who was incarcer- ated in the United Kingdom for tax crimes in 2022. Becker first caught the world's attention as a teenage tennis prodigy when, at the age of 17, the German player won the gen- tlemen's Wimbledon singles ti- tle in 1985, making him the youngest-ever Grand Slam sin- gles champion. He went on to win 64 titles, cementing his place in tennis history before re- tiring in 1999. The unprecedented rise of this teenage world champion, and how the drive to succeed would sadly contribute to his post-retirement woes, are chronicled in "Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker," which features interviews with tennis superstars past and pres- ent, including John McEnroe, Bjorn Bjork and Novak Djokov- ic. Already an Academy Award- and Emmy-winning filmmaker, Gibney directs and narrates this two-part series, marking his re- turn to the world of sports after previously profiling controver- sial cycling figure Lance Arm- strong in "The Armstrong Lie" (2013), and contributing to ES- PN's "30 for 30" series with "Catching Hell" about Steve Bartman and the 2003 Chicago Cubs. Revisit the highs and lows of Boris Becker's life and career in "Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker," when it pre- mieres Friday, April 7, on Apple TV+. Dr. Sandra Lee returns with a new season of "Dr. Pimple Popper"