What to Watch Update

8.6.21

Hello and Happy Friday! It’s time for an update on what to watch on tv, courtesy of Jason Dietz for Metacritic.

Credit source: Metacritic

PREMIERE DATES FOR NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS AND SPECIALS

New () and returning shows, TV movies, miniseries, and specials (including streaming exclusives) with announced premiere dates are listed below. All times are both ET/PT unless otherwise indicated. Items available to buy or rent through digital outlets (VOD, Prime Video, iTunes, etc.) are marked with a ($).

Miss something? View our archive of past premiere dates >

AUGUST PREMIERES – VIEW OUR AUGUST TV PREVIEW

THU / AUGUST 5
	Abandoned: Expedition Shipwreck	Reality	Science, 10p
	Brat Loves Judy  Trailer	Reality	WE, 9p
	Deadly Mom Retreat	Drama	LMN, 8p
	Departure Trailer	Drama	Peacock
The Canadian conspiracy thriller starring Archie Panjabi and the late Christopher Plummer as transportation bureau investigators returns for a second season that centers on a train crash. New cast members this year include Donal Logue and Jason O’Mara.
	Dream Team: Birth of the Modern Athlete  Trailer	Documentary/Sports	Paramount+
	Furry Friends Forever: Elmo Gets A Puppy	Family	HBO Max
	Hart to Heart  Trailer	Talk	Peacock
Kevin Hart hosts a new weekly interview show (though three episodes will be available on launch day).
	Teddy	Horror	Shudder
	Underground Marvels	Reality	Science, 9p
FRI / AUGUST 6
60	All the Streets Are Silent  Trailer	Documentary	($) Virtual theaters
	Ancient Aliens	Reality	History, 9p
	Death She Wrote	Drama	LMN, 8p
	For the Love of Kitchens	Reality	discovery+ (Magnolia)
	Hit & Run  Trailer	Drama
63	John and the Hole	Drama/Thriller	($) Rent
There’s acting out and then there’s acting out. The debut film from director Pascual Sisto centers on the titular 13-year-old boy (that would be John, not The Hole), played by Captain Fantastic‘s Charlie Shotwell, who discovers a hidden unfinished bunker near his house. Like any teenager would then do, he decides to drug his parents (Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Ehle) and older sister (Taissa Farmiga) and keep them captive inside the pit while he gets to enjoy the family home all to himself. The psychological thriller received mixed-to-positive reviews when it debuted at Sundance early this year, and it opens in theaters today as well.
	Luke Bryan: My Dirt Road Diary  Trailer	Reality/Music	IMDb TV
	Madagascar: A Little Wild	Animation/Family	Hulu/Peacock
56	Mr. Corman  Trailer	Comedy/Drama	Apple TV+
Created by Joseph Gordon-Levitt—who writes, directs, and produces in addition to starring as the title character—Apple’s newest dramedy series centers on failed musician who is now a fifth-grade public school teacher in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley struggling with lowered expectations and a failed relationship. Arturo Castro, Debra Winger, Logic, Juno Temple, and Jamie Chung also star alongside Gordon-Levitt, who returns to TV for his first regular starring role since the end of 3rd Rock from the Sun two decades ago. Three of the 10 episodes stream today, followed by weekly installments.
	Navarasa  Trailer	Foreign/Drama/Anthology
70	Never Gonna Snow Again	Foreign/Drama	($) Virtual theaters
	Night Drive  Trailer	Sci-fi/Thriller	($) Rent
	Notorious Nick	Action/Drama/Sports	($) Rent
	Ranch to Table	Reality	discovery+ (Magnolia)
86	Sabaya  Trailer	Documentary	($) Virtual theaters
	She Ball  Trailer	Drama/Comedy/Sports	($) Rent
73	Sheep Without a Shepherd	Foreign/Drama/Thriller	($) Virtual theaters
	S.O.Z. Soldiers or Zombies	Foreign/Drama	Prime Video
75	The Suicide Squad  Trailer	Action-adventure	HBO Max
Both a sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad as well as a reboot of the superhero franchise, the new film finds James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) taking over from director David Ayer. Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, and Viola Davis return from the previous film, while new faces include John Cena (as Peacemaker), Idris Elba (Bloodsport), Peter Capaldi (The Thinker), and Sylvester Stallone. The film begins a one-month run on HBO Max today concurrent with its theatrical release.
	The Swarm  Trailer	Foreign/Horror
72	Val  Trailer	Documentary	Prime Video
Did you feel Boyhood was too unambitious? Well, actor Val Kilmer has merely spent the past 40 years documenting his own life, and the result (edited down to 109 minutes) comes to Amazon today after a brief theatrical run.
65	Vivo  Trailer	Animation/Family
Lin-Manuel Miranda and Gloria Estefan head the voice cast of this Sony-produced original animated family musical adventure centering on a kinkajou who journeys from Cuba to Miami.
	What We Left Unfinished  Trailer	Documentary	($) Virtual theaters
	Whirlybird	Documentary	($) Rent
SAT / AUGUST 7
	The 27-Hour Day	Drama	Hallmark, 9p
	Heartbreak Island	Reality competition	discovery+
The first season streamed just last week, but the second season is already here. These shows must make themselves.
72	I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking)  Trailer	Drama	BET Her
SUN / AUGUST 8
	2020 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony	Special	8p
If an Olympics cermony is held in an empty stadium, does it make a sound?
	Family Game Fight!	Game show	10:30p
Husband and wife Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell pair up with regular folk and compete against each other in a series of games in yet another format inspired by segments on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Tonight’s special post-Olympics premiere, which replaces the diarrhea-postponed Ultimate Slip ‘N Slide (look it up—or don’t), will be followed this week by another episode in the show’s regular timeslot on Wednesday 8/11 at 9p.
	Godfather of Harlem Trailer	Drama	Epix, 9p
	In Their Own Words	Reality	8p
	The L Word: Generation Q Trailer	Drama	10p
Tonight’s season 2 premiere will be available to stream early, beginning on August 6.
	Money Hungry	Reality competition	Food, 10p
	On the Case With Paula Zahn	Reality	ID, 10p
	Psycho Intern	Drama	Lifetime, 8p
	Sweet Revenge	Drama	HMM, 9p
	UFO  Trailer	Documentary	9p
All four episodes will also be available to stream at once (beginning this morning).
MON / AUGUST 9
	Cheap Old Houses	Reality	HGTV, 9p
	Monster Garage	Reality	Discovery, 10p
85	Reservation Dogs  Trailer	Comedy
The latest “FX on Hulu” original series comes from Taika Waititi and Sterlin Harjo. Featuring an all-Indigenous cast and writing/directing staff, the comedy is set on a reservation in Oklahoma where four teenaged friends attempt to save (and steal) enough money to move to California.
	Shaman King  Trailer	Anime
	Super Heists	Reality	CNBC, 10p
	The Wall	Game show	10p
TUE / AUGUST 10
	Bergeron Brothers: Wedding Videographers  Trailer	Comedy	($) Rent/Buy
	Bleed With Me	Horror	Shudder
	Chopped: Playing With Fire	Reality competition	Food, 9p
	Dark Stories  Trailer	Horror/Thriller	($) Rent/Buy
	DC’s Stargirl Trailer	Drama	8p
The series moves from DC Universe to the CW for its second season.
	Eye Without a Face  Trailer	Horror/Thriller	($) Rent/Buy
	Fantasy Island  Trailer	Drama/Anthology	9p
Roselyn Sanchez (Devious Maids) takes over the Ricardo Montalban role of Mr. Roarke (now called Elena Roarke) in a modern-day reboot of the ABC episodic anthology series that ran from 1977-84.
	The Florist	Drama	($) Rent/Buy
	Gabby’s Dollhouse	Animation/Family
	Hard Knocks: The Dallas Cowboys	Reality/Sports	10p
	Materna  Trailer	Drama	($) Rent/Buy
	Phil Wang: Philly Philly Wang Wang	Comedy special
	The Profit	Reality	CNBC, 10p
	Untold  Trailer	Documentary/Sports/Anthology
Netflix’s five-film sports doc anthology series from the creators of Wild, Wild Country kicks off with a look at the so-called “Malice at the Palace” brawl during a 2004 Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons game. Upcoming films (which will arrive weekly on Tuesdays) include profiles of female boxer Christy Martin and a minor league hockey team controlled by a teenage son of a mob boss as well as looks at tennis player Mardy Fish and Caitlyn (then Bruce) Jenner’s Olympic career and later gender transition
	Unraveled: The Stalker’s Web	Reality	discovery+
	Wild ‘N Out	Comedy	VH1, 8p
WED / AUGUST 11
	Bake Squad  Trailer	Reality competition
Christina Tosi hosts TV’s latest baking competition.
	The Challenge Trailer	Reality competition	MTV, 8p
	Cribs Trailer	Reality	MTV, 9:30p
The MTV celebrity home tour series returns with its first new episodes since 2011.
	Disney Presents Goofy in How to Stay at Home	Animation/Family	Disney+
	Josh Gates Tonight	Talk	Discovery, 9p
	The Kissing Booth 3  Trailer	Rom-com
65	Misha and the Wolves	Documentary
This surprising but not necessarily penetrating documentary by Sam Hobkinson tries to get to the truth surrounding author Misha Defonseca’s Holocaust survivor tale. Built like a detective story, the film tells quite an entertaining story, but several critics found it too slick for its own good when it debuted at Sundance earlier this year to decent if unspectacular reviews overall.
	Money Court	Reality	CNBC, 10p
	Riverdale	Drama	8p
	Superstar	Reality	10p
	What If…?  Trailer	Animation/Drama/Sci-fi	DIsney+
Yes, it’s yet another Marvel series on Disney+, but this one’s different: It’s animated. It’s also literally different. Based on the comic book series of the same name, the anthology series What If reimagines classic Marvel characters in hypothetical situations that depart from the stories you know from the MCU films. What if it were Peggy Carter who took the Super Soldier serum and became Captain America Britain? What if it were Steve Rogers who donned the Iron Man suit? What if T’Challa became Star Lord? These and other alternate realities will be explored across 10 episodes, streaming weekly. Jeffrey Wright voices Uatu The Watcher, who narrates the series, while MCU regulars Michael B. Jordan, the late Chadwick Boseman, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Jeff Goldblum, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, Sebastian Stan, Toby Jones, Hayley Atwell, Chris Evans, Michael Douglas, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Ruffalo, Taika Waititi, and many more will reprise their film and TV roles (at least in voice form).
THU / AUGUST 12
	AlRawabi School for Girls  Trailer	Foreign/Drama
	Brooklyn Nine-Nine Trailer	Comedy	8p
For the acclaimed comedy’s final season, new episodes will arrive two per week (Thursdays at 8 and 8:30p).
	Chrisley Knows Best Trailer	Reality	USA, 9p
	Ex Rated  Trailer	Reality	Peacock
	Forbrydelsen	Foreign/Drama	Topic
All three seasons of the Danish crime drama—later remade in the U.S. as The Killing—make a belated U.S. debut.
	Growing Up Chrisley Trailer	Reality	USA, 9:30p
	Hear Me Out	Talk	Vice, 11:30p
69	Homeroom  Trailer	Documentary
	The Hunt for a Killer	Foreign/Drama	Sundance Now
	The Hype  Trailer	Reality competition	HBO Max
	Lokillo: Nothing’s the Same	Comedy special
	Monster Hunter: Legends of the Guild  Trailer	Anime
	The Ms. Pat Show  Trailer	Comedy	BET+
	The Mysterious Death of Eazy-E  Trailer	Reality	WE, 10p
	Slasher: Flesh & Blood Trailer	Drama/Horror	Shudder
While David Cronenberg and horror are a classic pairing, this eight-episode fourth installment of the horror anthology Slasher (now a Shudder original series after previously airing on Chiller and then Netflix) finds Cronenberg neither directing nor writing—but starring. Flesh & Blood finds members of a large, wealthy family reuniting on a secluded island, where they are pitted against each other as a masked killer stalks them. Two episodes stream per week.
	Star Trek: Lower Decks Trailer	Animation/Comedy/Sci-fi	Paramount+
	Titans Trailer	Drama	HBO Max
The former DC Universe series is now an HBO Max exclusive for its third season. Three new episodes stream today, followed by weekly installments.
	Ultimate Rides	Reality	FYI, 10p
	Well Done With Sebastian Maniscalco	Reality	discovery+
FRI / AUGUST 13
	AEW: Rampage  Trailer	Sports-ish	TNT, 10p
52	Beckett  Trailer	Drama/Thriller
John David Washington stars as an American tourist who suddenly finds himself on the run in Greece after a car accident embroils him in a political conspiracy. Vicky Krieps, Boyd Holbrook, and Alicia Vikander also star for Italian director Ferdinando Cito Filomarino, a frequent Luca Guadagnino collaborator.
	Brand New Cherry Flavor  Trailer	Drama/Horror
Todd Grimson’s hallucinatory horror novel gets an eight-episode adaptation from Channel Zero vets Nick Antosca and Lenore Zion. The series follows an aspiring film director (Rosa Salazar) who heads to L.A. in the 1990s, only to find her dream project turn into a nightmare—apparently, one that includes “zombies, hit men, supernatural kittens, and a mysterious tattoo artist.” Catherine Keener, Manny Jacinto, Eric Lange, and Mark Acheson also star.
	Buckley’s Chance	Drama	($) Rent
	Charming the Hearts of Men	Drama/Comedy	($) Rent
72	CODA  Trailer	Drama	Apple TV+
Streaming on Apple TV+ the same day it opens in theaters, CODA (short for Child of Deaf Adults) swept the top awards at the Sundance Film Festival early this year, where Apple acquired the film for a Sundance-record $25 million. (The last film to win both top Sundance awards from audiences and the festival jury? Minari, the previous year.) Director Sian Heder (Tallulah) also won an award at the fest for her crowd-pleasing remake of the 2014 French film La Famille Bélier that stars Emilia Jones as Ruby, the sole hearing member of a deaf Gloucester fishing family. As the family business comes under threat, she explores her love of singing despite the disapproval of her mother, played by Marlee Matlin.
	Crime Story  Trailer	Drama/Thriller	($) Rent
	Curiosa  Trailer	Drama	($) Virtual theaters
	Descendants: The Royal Wedding	Animation/Family	Disney, tbd
	Disney’s Magic Bake-Off	Reality competition	Disney, tbd
	Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon A Time  Trailer	Anime	Prime Video
	Fast & Furious: Spy Racers Trailer	Animation/Family
	Gone for Good  Trailer	Foreign/Drama
	The Kingdom	Foreign/Drama
	Masters of Illusion	Reality	8p
	The Meaning of Hitler	Documentary	($) Rent
	Modern Love Trailer	Drama/Anthology	Prime Video
The anthology’s second season features Garrett Hedlund, Dominique Fishback, Kit Harington, Aparna Nancherla, Sophie Okonedo, Tobias Menzies, Anna Paquin, Lucy Boynton, Miranda Richardson, Minnie Driver, Jack Reynor, and more.
32	Naked Singularity  Trailer	Drama/Comedy	($) Rent
	Point of View: A Designer Profile	Reality	discovery+ (Magnolia)
	Spin  Trailer	Family/Drama	Disney, 8p
64	Swan Song  Trailer	Comedy/Drama	($) Rent
Also playing in select theaters (beginning August 6th), the latest from writer-director Todd Stephens (Another Gay Movie) stars Udo Kier as a retired hairdresser who leaves his nursing home and makes his way across town to do a dead woman’s hair for her funeral. Shot in Sandusky, Ohio and based on the life of local icon Pat Pitsenbarger, the film received positive reviews from critics at its SXSW debut earlier this year.
	Valeria Trailer	Foreign/Comedy/Drama

Hope this is helpful to you. A great selection of shows and films to see on small screen. Enjoy the rest of your Friday, be safe, healthy, and blessed.

Featured image: Pexel