HBO MAX
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty
SUNDAY: The flashy sports docudrama about the “Showtime” era of the L.A. Lakers spans the years 1980-84 in its second season, zeroing in on the rivalry between the upstart Lakers and the dynastic Boston Celtics—which becomes a battle of the star-player titans, Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah) and Larry Bird (Sean Patrick Small). Can the Lakers’ flamboyant team owner Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly) and determined coach Pat Riley (Adrien Brody) keep the team on its winning ways?
Courtesy of Kudos and MASTERPIECE
Grantchester
SUNDAY: The pivotal eighth season of the 1960’s-era Masterpiece Mystery! drama closes with back-to-back episodes that find crime-solving vicar Will Davenport (Tom Brittney) spiraling with guilt over an earlier fatal motorcycle accident, turning to pills to ease his grief. “I can’t hear God,” he confesses, prompting a sudden road trip of evasion and self-discovery that couldn’t be worse timed, considering that his very pregnant wife Bonnie (Charlotte Ritchie) is just moments away from going into labor. The village locals are all concerned about Will’s mental well-being—none more than father-figure detective Geordie Keating (Robson Green), who’s got his own problems. His boorish boss has put him on desk duty, pushing him toward a reluctant retirement. Which means his junior sidekick Larry Peters (Bradley Hall) has to step up to solve a case. And with Will otherwise distracted fighting his own demons, the young detective gets a much-needed assist from the precinct’s not-so-secret weapon: the coolly efficient secretary Miss Jennifer Scott (Melissa Johns). Next season, Will is moving on, eventually turning over the reins to the series’ third vicar, Alphy Kotteram (Rishi Nair).
Elizabeth Sisson/SHOWTIME
The Chi
SUNDAY: Creator Lena Waithe’s drama about the denizens of Chicago’s South Side, chasing their dreams amid turbulent relationships, returns for a seventh season, with Emmett’s (Jacob Latimore) ambitions to expand Smokey’s BBQ joint testing his union with Keisha (Birgundi Baker), who’s now occupied with her own new career. Elsewhere, Kevin (Alex Hibbert) rides high on his reputation as a master gamer, while Jake (Michael V. Epps) launches a new business and Papa (Shamon Brown Jr.) has a crisis of faith while pursuing an older woman. Never a dull moment on these city streets.
David Dolsen/Hallmark Media
When Calls the Heart
SUNDAY: In the streaming era, series longevity isn’t as commonplace as it used to be—which is why it’s cause for celebration as this heartfelt period drama marks its milestone 100th episode, symbolically and cleverly titled “Hope Springs Eternal.” Hope Valley is all abuzz about the newly discovered Hot Springs, which could turn around the mining town’s fortunes.
3Bird Media
Recipe for Disaster
SATURDAY: Not every cooking competition takes itself as seriously as Top Chef. Netflix just launched a supersized version of the hilarious baking show Nailed It!, and The CW counters with this gimmicky diversion in which three pro chefs team with buddies who have scant kitchen experience, tackling cooking challenges under extremely bizarre conditions in an ever-changing studio. In the first of two episodes, the chefs dodge rainstorms and other adverse weather obstacles. In the second Dracula-themed episode, frightening storms, bats and even blood spook the players. Preceded by a new season of the yummy Great Chocolate Showdown (8/7c).
Food Network
Worst Cooks in America
SUNDAY: The amusing boot-camp competition for hapless home cooks takes a twist in a romance-themed season where culinary experts Anne Burrell and Jeff Mauro lead two teams of unhappy singletons through challenges designed to sharpen their kitchen skills and help them up their dating game. The contest begins with the 16 recruits each preparing a “seal the deal” meal to demonstrate just how far they need to go to master their craft.
HGTV
Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge
SUNDAY: Well, that was quick. In the fourth and last episode of the renovation series riding on Barbie’s hot pink coattails, Barbie herself (Margot Robbie) makes a special appearance as the finalists gather for a “Pink Carpet” finale. But first, Christina on the Coast’s Christina Hall and James Bender face Luxe for Less stars Michel Smith Boyd and Anthony Elle for the remaining challenge to determine the fourth finalist. Whoever the judges determine created the most Barbie-licious space, their fan wins a stay in the completed DreamHouse. Ken presumably not included.
Michael Moriatis/AMC
Dark Winds
SUNDAY: The absorbing crime drama set in 1970s Navajo country piles on the intrigue when Lt. Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClernon) discovers another body near the tribal site where he and P.I. Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) were nearly killed by the mystery-man blond sniper. As he begins to connect the dots, Leaphorn is troubled to realize this killer might be connected to his own personal tragedy.
INSIDE WEEKEND TV:
- Ms. Marvel (Saturday, 8/7c, ABC): If you missed this uplifting teen superhero series on Disney+, all six episodes will air over two Saturdays, three this week and the remaining three on August 12, Iman Vellani stars as Kamala Khan, a 16-year-old Pakistani-American who couldn’t be more amazed to learn she has superpowers, much like her comic-book idols.
- Johnson (Saturday, 8/7c, Bounce TV): The dramedy about four best buds all named Johnson opens its third season with Keith (Philip Smithey) confronting unwelcome changes in his gentrifying Atlanta neighborhood—even at the risk of embarrassing his friends at an annual Quintessential Gentleman’s mixer.
- The Wild Sides (Saturday, 8/7c, BBC America): A three-part nature docuseries follows packs of elephants, cheetahs, leopards, jackals and baboons as they coexist in the unforgiving, drought-parched wilderness of Botswana’s Mashatu Game Reserve.
- Making Waves (Saturday, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel): Teen Wolf’s Holland Roden stars as a music exec hoping to sign a hot new band at an Outer Banks festival—only to discover the lead singer is her childhood sweetheart (Broadway’s Corey Cott).
- Boy in the Walls (Saturday, 8/7c, Lifetime): Ryan Michelle Bathe is a newlywed and new stepmom who thinks she’s being watched in the family’s new Connecticut home. If these walls could talk, they’d tell her there’s a creepy guy (Jonathan Whitesell) spying on them from within the house.
- Heartland (Sunday, 7/6c, UPtv): The heartwarming Canadian family drama launches its 16th season with back-to-back episodes.
- The Gilgo Beach Killer (Sunday, 8/7c, Lifetime): Previously titled The Long Island Serial Killer: A Mother’s Hunt for Justice when it premiered in 2021, the retitled docudrama gets an updated encore following the arrest of alleged killer Rex Heuermann.
- The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (Sunday, 8/7c, CNN): Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s “Weed” series returns with a new installment, “A Senior Moment,” exploring how cannabis is being used to treat pain, anxiety and other ailments among people over 50.
- Housebroken (Sunday, 9/8c, Fox): Back-to-back episodes close out the second season of the animated comedy about talking pets, with Honey the poodle (Lisa Kudrow) alarmed when she suspects one of the group is spilling their secrets, then getting ultra-competitive when she and Chief (Nat Faxon) visit a herding camp.
- Special Ops: Lioness (Sunday, streaming on Paramount+): Taylor Sheridan’s (Yellowstone) spy thriller has a “Dana Brody” (as in Homeland) problem: namely, an aggravating teenage daughter who pulls focus from the main story. When CIA handler Jo’s (Zoe Saldaña) daughter Kate (Hannah Love Lanier) is involved in a serious accident, the agent is forced to take her eye off undercover recruit Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira) on her first mission, where a night out clubbing in the Hamptons takes a sordid turn.