Other highlights include shows starring Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Susan Sarandon.
The stars are out this week on the small screen, as Susan Sarandon joins a popular drama, Jennifer Jason Leigh leads a new Netflix series, Keanu Reeves shows up in a recurring role on a goofy comedy, and Brendan Gleeson heads up a Stephen King adaptation. It’s also interesting that most of the highlights this week are from channels and services we aren’t typically compelled to watch, like DirecTV’s Audience network, Pop, and Apple Music.
To help you keep track of the most important programs over the next seven days, here’s our guide to everything worth watching, whether it’s on broadcast, cable, or streaming for August 6th-12th (all times Eastern):
SUNDAY
Ray Donovan (Showtime, 9pm)
Whether you’ve been watching since the beginning or gave up during the first season (hello) or have never seen this drama, Season 5 offers a great new reason to tune in: Susan Sarandon. The actress follows up her recent performance as Bette Davis in Feud: Bette and Joan with another cinema-centric role as the head of a major movie studio. The main arc for Ray (Liev Schreiber) appears to involve a young actress trying to quit a big film franchise, against that mogul’s wishes. Fan favorites Jon Voight and Eddie Marsan are also back for the new season, of course.
Also on Sunday:
Sharknado 5: Global Swarming — movie debut (SyFy, 8pm)
Teen Wolf S6E12: “Raw Talent” (MTV, 8pm)
Twin Peaks: The Return “Part 13” (Showtime, 8pm)
Claws S1E9: “Ambrosia” (TNT, 9pm)
Game of Thrones S7E4: “The Spoils of War” (HBO, 9pm)
The Nineties E3: “Terrorism Hits Home” (CNN, 9pm)
Power S4E7: “You Lied to My Face” (Starz, 9pm)
Ballers S3E3: “In the Teeth” (HBO, 10pm)
I’m Dying Up Here S1E9: “Lingchi” (Showtime, 10pm)
The Strain S4E4: “New Horizons” (FX, 10pm)
Insecure S2E3 (HBO, 10:30pm)
Rick and Morty (S3E3): “Pickle Rick” (Cartoon Network, 11:30pm)
MONDAYBrillo Box (3¢ Off) (HBO, 10pm)
If modern art intrigues you, this 40-minute documentary chronicles a journey of one specific piece by Andy Warhol over the last half century. Filmmaker Lisanne Skyler grew up with one of the rare yellow “Brillo Box” sculptures, actually signed by Warhol, but her art collecting parents traded it for another work early on. She traces where it went from there, leading to a recent auction where it sold for millions of dollars. The film, which was shortlisted for the Oscar last fall, is slight for an art world doc, but its personal angle is a nice entry into the story.
Also on Monday:
The Bachelorette S13E11 — Season 13 finale (ABC, 8pm)
Hooten & the Lady S1E5: “Ethiopia” (The CW, 9pm)
Will S1E6: “Something Wicked This Way Comes” (TNT, 9pm)
Preacher S2E8: “Holes” (AMC, 9pm)
Teen Mom 2 (MTV, 9pm)
Iris — doc encore (PBS, 10pm)
TUESDAYCarpool Karaoke: The Series (Apple Music)
The popular segment of The Late Late Show With James Corden spins off into its own series, sometimes hosted by James Corden. If you don’t know the premise, it’s very simple: famous music artists sing their songs while riding in a car driving around Los Angeles. Sometimes other celebrities, even as big as former First Lady Michelle Obama, have joined in, too. The weekly series, consisting of 16 episodes, is exclusive to Apple Music subscribers and will feature such guests as John Legend, Will Smith (he’s in this first episode), Metallica, Alicia Keys, Ariana Grande, and John Cena.
Also on Tuesday:
Difficult People S3E1: “Passover Bump” — Season 3 premiere (Hulu)
Animal Kingdom S2E10: “Treasure” (TNT, 9pm)
The Bold Type S1E6: “The Breast Issue” (Freeform, 9pm)
Manhunter: Unabomber S1E3: “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree” (Discovery, 10pm)
WEDNESDAYMr. Mercedes (Audience, 8pm)
Between last weekend’s opening of The Dark Tower and the upcoming release of It, we’re in a special time for works based on Stephen King books. Now, here’s a TV series adapted from King’s 2014 hard-boiled detective novel of the same name, and the talent involved makes it quite appealing. The showrunner is David E. Kelly, whose Big Little Lies is one of the year’s best television. And Brendan Gleeson stars as the retired police detective dealing with a young murderer (Harry Treadaway) who killed a number of people with a Mercedes. It’ll be a bit sad to watch and recall that Anton Yelchin was supposed to play the latter character before his sudden death. Kelly Lynch and Mary Louise Parker co-star in the DirecTV exclusive series. If you don’t get Audience, watch the first two episodes here.
Swedish Dicks (Pop, 8pm)
The Keanussaince continues with Keanu Reeves taking on his first recurring TV role since voicing Ted in the Bill & Ted animated series and his first ever recurring role for a live-action show. He supports Peter Stormare (also co-creator) and Johan Glans, who play the titular private detectives from Sweden, the former originally a stuntman and the latter a DJ, working on cases in Los Angeles. The first season of the comedy, which also co-stars Traci Lords, premiered last year on the Swedish streaming service Viaplay and is just now arriving in the US. The show has also been renewed for a second season.
Also on Wednesday:
Catfish: The TV Show (MTV, 9pm)
Baroness Von Sketch Show S1E2: “Last Year You Weren’t 40” (IFC, 10pm)
Broadchurch S3E7 (BBC America, 10pm)
I’m Sorry S1E6: “Too Slow” (truTV, 10pm)
The Sinner S1E2 (USA, 10pm)
Snowfall S1E5: (FX, 10pm)
THURSDAYFirst in Human: The Trials of Building 10 (Discovery Channel, 9pm)
John Hoffman, a longtime Emmy-winning documentary producer who co-directed this year’s Sundance feature Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman, is at the helm of this three-part verite miniseries on the National Institute of Health’s Building 10. Offering an unprecedented look inside the research hospital, the program will show the scientists and doctors seeking breakthroughs in treatment as well as the brave but desperate volunteer patients who’ve exhausted every other option for a cure. Jim Parsons narrates the series, which airs over a few weeks.
Also on Thursday
Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update (NBC, 9pm)
The Mist S1E8: “The Law of Nature” (Spike, 10pm)
Queen of the South S2E10: “Que Manden los Payasos” (USA, 10pm)
Zoo S3E7: “Wham, Bam, Thank You Sam” (CBS, 10pm)
The Guest Book S1E3: “Story Three” (TBS, 10:30pm)
FRIDAY
Atypical (Netflix)
Jennifer Jason Leigh is mother to an 18-year-old son with autism (Keir Gilchrist, of It’s Kind of a Funny Story). He’s the main focus of the show, the first season of which consists of eight episodes, as it’s a coming-of-age black comedy involving the boy’s attempt to finally get a girlfriend. Leigh’s role is still significant, though, more so it seems than Michael Rapaport as the father, because she has difficulty dealing with her son’s new independence. The series was created by and is written by The Goldbergs producer Robia Rashid and directed by Seth Gordon (Baywatch), who is also a producer on that hit ’80s-set sitcom.
Also on Friday:
Naked — movie debut (Netflix)
White Gold — series debut (Netflix)
Room 104 S1E3: “The Knockadoo” (HBO, 11:30pm)
SATURDAYOrphan Black (BBC America, 10pm)
One of our favorite shows, which really hasn’t been talked about enough this final season, is coming to a close after four years. We take this time to thank Graeme Manson and John Fawcett for such an original sci-fi program and for turning Tatiana Maslany into a star. The series finale, titled “To Right the Wrongs of Many,” is going to be epic, with the episode’s preview focusing on the question of which characters will make it to the end. Another big question is this: will the people who stopped watching Orphan Black after the first couple seasons be back to see how it concludes?
Also on Saturday:
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them — cable premiere (HBO, 8pm)
