Category Archives: Pop Culture

Oct 09 2026
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Books, DVDs, Movies, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to Watch, and More! Week of Oct. 9 – Oct. 15

A load of “Lord of the Rings,” creepy clowns everywhere & the backstory of “Friday the 13th”

FRIDAY, Oct. 9
Disclosure Day
Director Stephen Spielberg’s deep dive into a space-alien cover-up conspiracy stars Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth and Colman Domingo (Peacock).

Animals
When their son is kidnapped, a Los Angeles mayoral candidate and his wife find themselves drawn into a web of deception and wrenching choices. Starring Ben Affleck and Kerry Washington (Netflix).

SATURDAY, Oct. 10
Hokum
Supernatural horror film stars Adam Scott as an author who travels to Ireland on a mission to scatter his late parents’ ashes, booking a room in a hotel that turns out to be haunted (Hulu).

The Monster She Married
A woman, groomed since she was a teen, breaks her silence and confronts the terrifying truth about her husband (8 p.m., Lifetime).

SUNDAY, Oct. 11
The Pet Cemetery Murders: A Ghost Story
Three-part documentary about an investigation into a 1985 murder that turns into a haunting exploration of a community’s dark history of violence and bloodshed in a rural Louisiana bayou (HBO).

Lord of the Rings Movie Marathon
Return to Middle Earth with all four movies based on the seminal fantasy work of author J.R.R. Tolkien (begins 10 a.m., TBS).

MONDAY, Oct. 12
Clown Panic
Documentary explores the widespread reports of “creepy clown” sightings (Hulu).

Free Leonard Peltier
Documentary about the leader of the American Indian Movement, his 50-year imprisonment and his fight for freedom (Netflix).

TUESDAY, Oct. 13
Ludwig
Season two of the British series about a crime scene consultant (David Mitchell) looking into puzzling goings-on (Britbox).

Phony
Connie Britton stars in this coming-of-age mystery about a teenager who wakes up in the hospital after a car accident to discover his mom appears to have been replaced by an impostor (Hulu).

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 14
Sesame Street and the Great Elephant Adventure
Primetime special (above) takes you on a safari as Elmo the Sesame Street gang go on a once-in-a-lifetime African expedition (8 p.m., PBS).

10.14
Love of Your Life
Sweeping love story with some unexpected twists stars Margaret Qualley, Aaron Pierre, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Basso and Catherine Keener (Prime Video).

THURSDAY, Oct. 15
Crystal Lake
This Friday the 13th prequel takes the horror franchise down to its pre-movie roots and stars Linda Cardenelli, above, as a mother grieving over her drowned son, Jason Voorhees, whose tragic death would create a monster…and a horror legend (Peacock).

Hollywood Arts
New series about a struggling actress (Daniella Monet) who returns to her former Hollywood high school as a substitute teacher (Netflix).

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Take a wild road trip with Cross Country Cryptids (Exposit/McFarland), a travelogue across American and Canada seeking the weird, the wild and the wooly, and those who celebrate creepy-crawlies, mythical monsters and legendary beasts.

Why do marshes matter? In Bogland (W.W. Norton), Merritt R. Turetsky dives into the murky depths to explain how, and why, marshlands—teeming with life and biochemical reactions—are essential to the existence of our planet.

Young readers will learn a lot with The Woman Who Heard the Sun and Other True Stories Overlooked by History (Crown Books for Young Readers), in which author Amisha Padnani celebrates 18 diverse individuals whose courage, creativity and curiosity transformed the world.

How much has photography changed and affected our lives? This is Photography: The First 200 Years (Thames & Hudson) takes a chronologically arranged deep dive into the images, gadgetry, subjects and publications that have made photography an essential component of just about everything we do.

Never been to Greece? No worries. Ancient Greece in Fifty Monuments (Thames & Hudson) takes you there, showing off sites—like the Parthenon in Athens, the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi and the Temple of Zeus at Olympia—that are not only tourist destinations, but part of the world’s shared culture and mythology.

Find out about the places that inspired one of the most famous painter’s formative works in Monet Abroad: Paintings and Letters 1863-1917 (Thames & Hudson). It’s like a guided tour of Europe with the firsthand notes of Claude Monet, the Frenchman who founded the art movement known as Impressionism.

BRING IT HOME


Learn about the luminous actress who became a movie muse for Alfred Hitchcock in Kim Novak’s Vertigo (Kino Lorber), a new documentary about how she turned her back on the spotlight at the top of her fame to follow another path, refusing to be remade by the Hollywood studio system. Buy HERE

Johnny Knoxville and his motley crew of mayhem-makers are back at it in Jackass: The Best and Last (Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment), a rousing send-off to the outlandishly inventive prank franchise with new stunts and a look back at former TV and movie highlights.   

Revisit Taylor Sheridan‘s Montana-set Yellowstone TV spinoff anew with The Madison: Season One (Paramount Home Entertainment), with Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell and Matthew Fox leading the ensemble cast.

Breaker, breaker: It’s Convoy (Kino Lorber), the 1978 trucking cult classic from director Sam Peckinpah starring singing heartthrob Kris Kristofferson and Love Story‘s Ali McGraw—and based on a radio hit of the time, C.W. McCall‘s CB-radio fueled “Convoy.” Buy HERE

Celebrate the 40th anniversary of a classic musical comedy with Little Shop of Horrors (Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment), newly re-released on 4K UHD. Directed by Frank Oz, it starred Rick Moranis, Steve Martin and Vincent Gardinia, with appearances by Bill Murray, Christopher Guest, John Candy and Jim Belushi. And it’s packed with special features!

A wild twist on The Wizard of Oz, Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) stars Zooey Deutsch as a young romantically wronged Midwesterner who ventures to Hollywood to chase down the one celeb (John Hamm, playing himself) she most wants to bed. And it’s very funny. Buy HERE

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Rock fans, get your ears ready for some early David Bowie in The Shel Talmy Recordings (Parlaphone), a collection of rare tracks recorded in 1965 by “Ziggy Stardust” with Talmy, the producer who’d already worked with The Who and The Kinks. It’s groovy!

October is Rocktober, and the folks at Rhino are celebrating with the re-release of more than 50 classic albums, including faves from The B-52s, The Pretenders, The Doobie Brothers, The Ramones, ZZ Top and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Dig it!

It’s great to hear Wynonna Judd back and making new music! In The Hard Truth (ANTI-Records), her first solo album in a decade and her first as a co-writer, she spreads her musical wings and returns to her Bluegrass State’s roots with songs like “All Downhill from Ashland,” “Broken and Blessed” and “Kentucky Queen.”

Oct 02 2026
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Books, History, Movies, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to Watch, and MORE! Week of Oct. 2 – Oct. 8

A new “Carrie,” the Statue of Liberty story & look out “Below”!

Summer H. Howell brings new coming-of-age chills to the role of Stephen King’s telekinetic teen.

FRIDAY, Oct. 2
Tip Toe
Alan Cumming and David Morrissey play neighbors whose relationship becomes a minefield of lies and violence (Starz).

Tyler Perry’s Doing Life
A single mother fighting to survive and a reformed ex-con with untapped talent find in each other an unlikely second chance (Netflix).

SATURDAY, Oct. 3
Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom: Protecting the Wild
Hosts Peter Gros and Dr. Rae Winn-Grant return for another season showcasing animal conservation efforts across the globe (NBC).

Corbin’s Southern Wild
New conservation series follows host Jeff Corbin from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic coast as he explores the wildlife, wild places and passionate people that make North Carolina a remarkable natural environment (ABC).

SUNDAY, Oct. 4
Late Night Law
New season rides with officers across America as they face the unpredictable dangers and split-second decisions on night shifts (9 p.m., A&E).

Halloween Boo-Nanza
Set sail for spooky-fun retro episodes of The Love Boat and Fantasy Island, part of the network’s month-long slate of Halloween programming (4 p.m., MeTV).

MONDAY, Oct. 5
Sweet Deceit
Josh Peck hosts this new game show in which contestants try to identify masterfully disguised sweets created by world-class cake artists (10 p.m., Food Network).

Signora Volpe
Emilia Fox returns for season three about a former British spy drawn into new webs of danger in Italy (Acorn TV).

TUESDAY, Oct. 6
Your Attention Please
Documentary explores the controversy over the addictiveness of social media platforms (Apple TV).

Reasonable Doubt
The legal drama returns for season four as defense attorney Jax Stewart (Emayatzy Corinealdi) navigates mounting challenges to her newly minted firm (Hulu).

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 7
Secrets of the Dead: Lady Liberty
Highlights the unique partnership between the United States and France that made the iconic monument possible (10 p.m., PBS).

Carrie
New series puts a fresh, updated spin on Stephen King’s coming-of-age horror classic, starring Summer H. Howell as the misfit teen with terrifying telekinetic powers (Prime Video).

THURSDAY, Oct. 8
Below
A fisherman (Josh Hartnett, above) battles an underwater monster terrorizing a Newfoundland village in this scarifying twisty new series. With Charlie Heaton and MacKenzie Davis (Netflix).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Dogs have been our companions for centuries. In The Invention of the Dog: 75 Breeds That Changed the World (Thames & Hudson), you’ll find out why as it traces the evolution of the most popular breeds with intriguing stories that might surprise the average pet owner. It’s bow-wow-wonderful!

In The Two Saddest Kitchens (Bloomsbury), the New Yorker cartoonist duo of Roz Chast and Jason Adam Katzenstein turn their hilarious collective gaze on what really goes on in kitchens—like theirs—that aren’t exactly shiny beacons of domestic bliss.

You probably know how much great art came from France. Now you can see it, in France: In the Footsteps of the Great Artists (Thames & Hudson), an eye-popping a visual history of great French artists and their signature works. Packed with color reproductions of Van Gogh, Cézanne, Picasso and many, many more!


Chris Kilup: North (Thames & Hudson) is a collection of the renowned photog who spent much of his career documenting life in the North of England, shining a light on the economic and social difficulties that haunted these communities. This retrospective rounds up some of memorable work in the 1970s and ‘80s.

BRING IT HOME


If you need some good ol’ demonic mayhem to spice up your life, Evil Dead Burn (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) is just the ticket, with a family reunion from hell and a young woman (Souheila Yacoub) who discovers that the vows she took on in life also have a haunting afterlife.

Ah, the golden days of the ‘70s sitcom. Relive that long-ago TV era with Bridget Loves Bernie: The Complete Series, with all episodes of the short-lived CBS sitcom about an interfaith marriage (he’s Jewish, she’s Catholic) starring Meredith Baxter and David Birney…who would later marry in real life!  Buy HERE.

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Bob Seger’s 2006 album Face the Music gets a 20th anniversary spiff-up with a newly expanded and remastered edition featuring four bonus tracks and a duet on “The Answer’s in the Question” with country’s Patty Loveless.

An alt-rock classic, R.E.M.’s critically acclaimed 1984 album Reckoning has been re-released in a new audiophile collector’s edition remastered directly from the original studio tapes. Among other tracks, it features the breakout radio hit “Don’t Go Back to Rockville.” (Interscope-Capitol Records).

Sep 25 2026
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Humor, Movies, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to Watch, and More! Week of Sept. 25 – Oct. 1

‘Family Feud’ turns 50, the films of Ricardo Montalban, and will the MTV Awards be a Swifty sweep?

FRIDAY, Sept. 25
S.W.A.T. Exiles
Shemar Moore reprises his character of Sergeant Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson, leading a new division of untested young recruits in this spinoff of the hit S.W.A.T. series (Starz).

The Unabomber
Inspired by real events, this drama follows Ted Kaczynski (Jacob Tremblay) as he tranforms from Harvard prodigy into the infamous Unabomber (Netflix).

Backrooms
The acclaimed horror film comes to TV. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett and Lukita Maxwel star in this terror tale of a strange doorway that leads to an endless, interconnecting labyrinth—and the fear that, around every corner, something bad is waiting for you (HBO Max).

SATURDAY, Sept. 26
The Ocean Between Them
A devoted mother (Rebecca Gayheart) finds her world upended when her daughter disappears at sea during a vacation in Belize (8 p.m., Lifetime).

Saturday Night Live
Tune in for a new season, the 52nd, of America’s longest-running late-night live comedy show, hosted tonight by NBA superstar Jalen Brunson with musical guests KATSEYE (11:30 p.m., NBC).

SUNDAY, Sept. 27
MTV Music Video Awards
Madonna and Taylor Swift (above) are among the leading nominees for the iconic live presentation of honors for the year’s top music vids, which returns to Los Angeles tonight for the first time in nearly a decade (7:30 p.m., CBS).

Still Flipping Out
New quasi-reality show follows Flipping Out star Jeff Lewis living his life, working his Sirius XM radio show, and doing his thing all around Los Angeles (9 p.m., Bravo).

MONDAY, Sept. 28
Family Feud
The survey says… Happy Anniversary! Tonight marks the 50th year of the fan-favorite syndicated game show, hosted by Steve Harvey sind 2016 (check local listings).

LEGO: One Piece
Animated special becomes the latest in the Lego pirate adventure franchise (Netflix).

TUESDAY, Sept. 29
Scammed
How online scams steal billions of dollars and ruin victims’ lives, and the rise of a global criminal industry, the people and technology enabling it, and the efforts to shut it down (10 p.m., PBS).

Celebrating Ricardo Montalban
Settle in for an evening of the Mexican-born Fantasy Island TV actor’s films, including Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, above (1982) and The Train Robbers (1973) (check listings, TCM).

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 30
The Amazing Race
Season 39 begins with a two-night premiere and the start of a new trek around the world (9:30 p.m., CBS).

Stone Age Masterpiece
Visit a cave in France that holds some of the world’s oldest art—of lions, mammoths and rhinos—dating back 20,000 years (9 p.m., PBS).

THURSDAY, Oct. 1
War
Dominic West and Sienna Miller star in this new series about a headline-grabbing legal battle in London (9 p.m., HBO Max).

Archive X: Unexplained Phenomena Six-part series probes telepathy, near-death experiences, UFO encounters, alien abductions, prophetic dreams and messages from the beyond (10 p.m., Sundance TV, AMC+).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Originally published in 2017 to coincide with their 50th anniversary, The Jacksons’ Legacy (Thames & Hudson) has been newly re-released in paperback.  It’s a photo-packed history of the hitmaking family’s lives and careers, with exclusive interviews from the brothers and others involved in their music, their tours and their lives.

BRING IT HOME

A pair of fraternity brothers are out of their element posing as counselors at a Christian camp to avoid doing community service—despite knowing nothing about camping or church, and disliking kids in general—in Bad Counselors (SGD Releasing), a Meatballs-ish comedy starring Taylor Grabowsky, Ryan Gunnarson and Dexter Masland.

Milly Alcock stars in the Supergirl (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), Superman’s cousin from Krypton now on an action-packed intergalactic mission to find the adversary who harmed her dog, Krypto. With Jason Momoa, David Corenswet and Eve Ridkey. With over 90 minutes of bonus features!

Vampires have often been sexy beasts, but 1994’s Interview with Vampire took the eroticism up a few notches with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise as hunky New Orleans bloodsuckers. Newly re-released in hi-def 4K, it also stars Kristen Dunst, Antonio Banderas and Christian Slater (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment).

Sep 18 2026
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Books, DVDs, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to Watch, and More! Week of Sept. 18- 24

Matt & Woody explore brotherhood, John Hamm’s a “Hostage” & an all-star salute to Judge Judy

Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey play themselves, sort of, in “Brothers”

FRIDAY, Sept. 18
Outlander: Blood of My Blood
Season two begins of the spinoff prequel about the two iconic lead couples and their hopes for survival amid a brewing war as they fight for each other and the future of the Highlands. Starring Jeremy Irvine and Hermione Corfield (Starz).

The Greatest @Home Videos: Cedy Awards
Cedric the Entertainer hosts this fourth annual celebration of viewer-submitted videos, including cute kids, pets, celebrity flubs and fails (8 p.m., CBS). 

SATURDAY, Sept. 19
Sole Survivor of Flight 119
Based-on-a-true-story drama of a woman (Sarah Wayne Collins) who survives a harrowing airplane crash in the Mexican jungle (8 p.m., Lifetime).

Jon Hamm stars in “American Hostage”

SUNDAY, Sept. 20
American Hostage
Jon Hamm (who also executive produced) and Giovanni Ribisi star in this new anthology series, a psychological thriller based on the true story of an Indianapolis radio reporter thrust into a life-of-death crisis when a hostage taker demands coverage on his show (MGM+).

Youth
Original comedy series about a 50-year-old divorcee (Sharon Horgan) and her search for sex and love while juggling caring for her ailing parents and parenting her should-be-grown-up son (HBO).

MONDAY, Sept. 21
Celebrity Weakest Link
New season of the rapid-fire quiz show will feature celebs from TV, sports, film and music competing for charity (Fox).

Line of Fire
New series (above) about a family of law enforcement agents bridging personal differences and crossing professional boundaries to tackle cases for the F.B.I., U.S. Marshals, Secret Service and Department of Justice. Starring Peter Krause, Hope Davis, Kat Cunning, Taylor Bloom and Charlie Barnett (NBC).

Siren: The Voices of Shelly Beattie
Documentary about a deaf women whose life closely parallels deaf Hollywood actor Marlee Matlin—who produced this film (HBO).

TUESDAY, Sept. 22
Judge Judy: Unfiltered, Unforgettable
Amy Poehler, RuPaul, Samuel L. Jackson, Sherry Lansing and Steven Spielberg share favorite stories about the now-iconic TV arbiter, who started her show in 1996 (8 p.m., CBS).

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 23
The Love Hypothesis
Lili Reinhart stars as a young Ph.D. candidate attracted to a college professor (Tom Bateman) in this drama based on a New York Times bestseller (Prime Video).

Brothers
Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson play fictionalized versions of themselves in this eight-episode series about friendship, family, fame and the messy line between make-believe and reality (Apple TV).

Knowledge Keepers
Learn how Native Americans have developed and passed down scientific knowledge through generations in this new documentary (9 p.m., PBS).

THURSDAY, Sept. 24
The Traitors: New Blood
Host Alan Cummings returns for the new season of the reality competition featuring contestants working toward a maga-prize purse—but with a traitor “hidden” in their midst who “murders” them one by one, unless they can rat him out first (8 p.m., NBC).

American Horror Story
After a creepy asylum, a coven of witches, a traveling freak show, a haunted hotel and the apocalypse itself, what’s next? Tune in tonight for the kickoff of season 13 of the horror anthology series (9 p.m., FX and Hulu).

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Look up! A History of the Sky in 300 Infographics (Thames & Hudson) shows how people throughout history have always been fascinated with what’s “up there” and sought to understand the cosmos and our place in it. It’s a trip into space, presented in an information-rich format that you’ll love exploring.

BRING IT HOME

The absurdist crime comedy I Love Boosters (Alliance Entertainment), about the misadventures of a group of shoplifters (or “boosters”), has a sprawling ensemble cast featuring Keke Palmer, Taylour Page, LaKeith Stanfield, Demi Moore, Will Poulter and Don Cheadle.

The latest Scary Movie (Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment), the fifth follow-up and a sorta sequel to the 2000 parody flick, finds two friends (Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans) again caught up in comedic mayhem involving killers, monsters and supernatural creatures.

Billy Bob Thornton leads the all-star cast (also including Ali Larter, Demi Moore, Sam Elliot and Andy Garcia), in Landman (Paramount Home Entertainment). See all 10 season two episodes of the modern-day oil-empire drama from Yellowstone‘s Taylor Sheridan.

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Hey, hey, it’s The Monkees! Hear how it all started six decades ago for the iconic “prefab” four with Made for TV (Rhino), a set of LPs, CDs and a Blu-ray celebrating the hit TV show, with fan-fave episodes and musical highlights, greatest hits, song tracks from season one and more.

Sep 04 2026
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Books, DVDs, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Sports, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to Watch, and More! Week of Sept. 4 – 10

A month of ‘Star Trek,’ Spider-Man goes for two, & Dennis Quaid’s water war

Capt. Kirk, Spock and the whole “Star Trek” gang are on a month-long mission for MeTV

FRIDAY, Sept. 4
Mayday
Ryan Reynolds and Sir Kenneth Branagh star in this comedic Cold War adventure (Apple TV).

Films on Film
TCM’s Ben Mankiewicz kicks off this new series devoted to movies and the stories behind them, beginning with a documentary about actor Charles Grodin followed by several of his films, including Midnight Run (8 p.m., TCM).

Spider-Man x 2
With the new Spider-Man movie setting box-office records, maybe it’s time to catch up on its predecessors, 2019’s Far From Home and 2021’s No Way Home. Both are streaming today! (Disney+).


Water Wars
Dennis Quaid narrates this documentary about a clash between ranchers, farmers and billionaires in a high-stakes legal war over water rights—blue gold—in Texas (Prime Video).

SATURDAY, Sept. 5
Surviving the Silence: The Roxane Gay Story
Dramatization of a real-life experience of sexual abuse and trauma, based on a bestselling first-person account (8 p.m., Lifetime).

Month of Star Trek
Celebrate an entire month hailing the 60th anniversary of the classic sci-fi space show with Star Trek Specials, a night of special programming from decades past, including Leonard Nimoy’s Star Trek Memories, a 1991 25th anniversary special, episode highlight and more (11 p.m., MeTV).

SUNDAY, Sept. 6
A Tale of Two Cities
New version of the classic Charles Dickens tale (above)—about love, sacrifice and injustice during the French Revolution—stars Kit Harrington, François Civil and Mirren Mack (MGM+).

MONDAY, Sept. 7
Top of the World
Documentary about the Windows on the World, the iconic restaurant atop the World Trade Center that became a symbol of New York City’s resilience after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 (8 p.m., CNN).

America’s Tailgate on CBS
Celebrate the new football season with this Nashville-based Labor Day special featuring performances by Sheryl Crow and John Legend, cooking segments, player highlights and superfans. Hosted by Nate Burleson (8 p.m., CBS).

The Drop: A Snowfall Saga
New drama series set in Los Angeles in the ‘90s as two characters (Gail Bean and Isaiah John) seek reinvention as West Coast rap rises from the era’s crack epidemic (9 p.m., FX and Hulu).

TUESDAY, Sept. 8
Untold Mr. T: I Pity the Fool
Before the gold chains, Mohawk and Hollywood fame of The A-Team and Rocky III, there was Laurence Tureaud. Find out how he became the Hollywood icon (above) known around the world as Mr. T (Netflix).

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 9
Last Seen
Australian thriller series about a detective (Patrick Brammall) searching for his long-lost daughter (Apple TV).

Call My Agent! The Movie
French comedy drama follows a former casting agent turned director who must reunite with her old team when her lead actor drops out of the role (Netflix).

THURSDAY, Sept. 10
A Killer Story
Three-part docuseries examines a polarizing murder case—about a woman accused of killing her ex-husband and his girlfriend in 2002—that spanned more than two decades and captured national attention (HBO).

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives
After four seasons, how many secrets, and how many wives, can there be? Find out when season five hits tonight (Hulu).

BRING IT HOME

If you missed it on PBS, now you can get it on DVD. Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World is an acclaimed documentary about the late Pulitzer Prize-winning poet who often rhapsodized the natural world. Celebs including Oprah Winfrey, Steve Buscemi and Stephen Colbert read her words.

Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner star in Carolina Caroline (Magnolia Home Entertaiment), a steamy action thriller about a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. With Kara Sedgwick, and a soundtrack with country tunes from a Kitty Wells, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams.

Comic-book fans, take wing with Batman: Part 1: Knightfall (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), the first entry in a three-part animated adaptation of the Dark Knight’s DC Comics adventures in the 1990s. Anson Mount (from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) is the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Alphabet of Oddities (Abrams) is a collection of fanciful, sometimes whimsical, and often frightful A-to-Z drawings by Ronald Porcelli, illustrating an alphabet’s worth of imaginary beasties like the Boozoins, the Ice Wolf and Fxchopxtinks.

What’s a Slavic myth? Authors Noah Charney and Svetlana Slapšak uncover fascinating roots of wide-ranging influence in The Slavic Myths (Thames & Hudson), tracing tales of the Indo-European ethnolinguistic group through many worldwide offshoots, including stories of vampires, werewolves, witches, gods, goddesses and other creatures.

This year marks the 26th anniversary of 9.11, the fateful event that became the most devastating event in the United States since Pearl Harbor. In All the Presidents’ Wars (W.W. Norton), author Peter Bergen shows how the “war on terror” stretched across the presidencies of Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden.

Inventing the Wild West (McFarland) presents a fascinating breakdown of how the “historical” West of yore became romanticized into myth—by television, movies and folklore—that far overshadowed reality. So saddle up, pardner!

Aug 28 2026
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Books, DVDs, History, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to Watch, and More! Week of Aug. 28 – Sept 3.

“The Whisper Man,” Rita Hayworth rocks & all about Billy the Kid

Robert De Niro, Adam Scott and Michelle Monaghan star in ‘The Whisper Man.’

FRIDAY, Aug. 28
The Whisper Man
When his eight-year-old son is abducted, a widowed crime writer looks to his estranged father, a retired former police detective, for help, only to discover a connection with the decades-old case of a convicted serial killer. Starring Robert De Niro, Adam Scott and Michelle Monaghan (Netflix).

Four Hands, Two Sonatas
South Korean drama about young high schoolers training to become concert pianists (Netflix).

SATURDAY, Aug. 29
Saluting Rita Hayworth
It’s a full day of flicks starring the glamorous redhead from Hollywood’s “golden age,” including “Only Angels Have Wings,” “Gilda,” “Cover Girl” (above) and “You’ll Never Get Rich” (TCM).

SUNDAY, Aug. 30
Robot Chicken Adult Swim Special
When every iconic animated character in Adult Swim’s history (from Aqua Teen Hunger Force to Smiling Friends and, of course, Robot Chicken) boards a cruise ship to celebrate a quarter century on the air, it can only end in a courtroom! (Midnight, Adult Swim).

MONDAY, Aug. 31
History’s Greatest Mysteries
Host Laurence Fishburn explores the wave of anthrax attacks in 2001 in the wake of 9/11, which caused widespread panic in the U.S. postal system and killed five people (9 p.m., History).

TUESDAY, Sept. 1
Billy the Kid
This “American Experience” doc tells the true story of Henry McCarty, the Wild West outlaw known as “Billy the Kid” who outfoxed jailers and captivated the nation with his string of nearly unbelievable escapes…until he met up with sheriff Pat Garrett (9 p.m., PBS).

9/11 United We Stand: 25 Years Later
Documentary about how sports, music, movies and comedy all helped heal the wounds of the devastating terrorist attack on America, with Pete Davidson, Derek Jeter, Billy Crystal, Matthew Broderick, Jon Bon Jovi and others (9 p.m., ABC).

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 2
Driven
Watch all three seasons of the steamy romantic series about a girl with a tragic past (Olivia Grace Applegate) who falls in love with a bad-boy race car driver (Casey Deidrick) (Netflix).

THURSDAY, Sept. 3
Chad Powers
Season two of the football comedy begins, with stars Glen Powell, Eli Manning and Steve Zahn (Hulu).

Arena Access with Mariah Rose
Sports content creator Mariah Rose takes viewers inside the arenas of major teams and sporting events, exploring the culture, food and community that make them shrines for fans (Tubi).


Clash of the Thundermans
New live-action kid-centric superhero comedy series (above) stars Maya Lee Clark as a young girl who suddenly discovers new and unpredictable powers (7 p.m., Nickelodeon).

BRING IT HOME

Put some vroooooom in the room with The Fast and the Furious: The 25th Anniversary Edition (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment). It’s a fresh remaster of the classic 2001 film (starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Michelle Rodriguez) about street racing, muscle cars, heists and spies that laid the foundation for a franchise expansion into more movies, TV series, toys and games.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Capturing a dramatic moment in history, Timothy W. Ryback’s 53 Days: How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy (Grove Atlantic) examines how dur furher used the German Constitution to turn a democratic republic into an authoritarian state, one that became Nazi Germany. Essential reading for WWII history buffs…and anyone interested in the contemporary parallels.

He’s a good boy! Young readers will lap up Dragon Dog (Random House Studio), about a fierce pooch cross-wired with a dragon who befriends a little lost lamb. The takeaway: Strength and softness can coexist.

Behind every successful music maker is a person behind the scenes: the producer. In Making Music (Akishic), Tape Op magazine founder Larry Crane shines the spotlight on the studio whizzes who’ve manned the control boards for the Beatles, Taylor Swift, Willie Nelson, David Bowie and many more acts, talking about the ins and outs and highs and lows of recording.

David Campany’s Walker Evans (Thames & Hudson) is an insightful study of one of the most quintessential American photographers. Evans, born in 1903, was both a pioneer and a precursor for the many ways photography could communicate. He was best known for his work documenting the effects of the Great Depression. 

Fine art lovers, here you go: Color Unbound: Matisse 1941-1954 (Thames & Hudson) collects artwork from the famed French artist’s final years, at home and in his studio.

Take a deep dive into the jungle with The Foundations of Tarzan (McFarland), Jon C. Scott’s in-depth analysis of the King of the Jungle—created by author Edgar Rice Burroughs—his vine-swinging roots in myth and other literature, and his many later incarnations.

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Classic rock fans, dig these new Blu-ray audio re-mix releases of ‘70s superstar albums. There’s the smooth balladry of singer-songwriter James Taylor (Gorilla), the mellow tones of former Bread frontman David Gates (his first two solo albums First and Never Let Her Go), the guitar-driven rock of The James Gang (Miami) and the pop jazz of flautist Herbie Mann (Hold On, I’m Coming). Available separately or in a set at rhino.com.

Aug 21 2026
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Books, DVDs, Movies, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to Watch, and More! Week of Aug. 21 – Aug. 27

Monsters mash, NFL’ers nosh & a sneak peek at the new ‘Grand Theft Auto’

King Kong, a mega shark and dinos do the monster mash on TBS.

FRIDAY, Aug. 21
9/11: Reunited
Survivors of one of modern history’s darkest days tell their stories and reflect on their unlikely bond (9 a.m., National Geographic).

Monster Movie Marathon
Buckle up for the outsized monster-mash thrills and chills of Jurassic World: Dominion, Kong: Skull Island and Meg 2: The Trench (8 p.m., TBS).

SATURDAY, Aug. 22
The Las Vegas Songwriters Festival
More than 100 hitmaking country and Americana tunesmiths—including Bob DiPiero, Dean Dillon, Billy Montana and Keith Stegall—come to the Glitter City to spin their musical tales in this showcase event (check listings, The Heartland Network).

The Run for a Million
Fast-paced equestrian competition where 16 riders guide horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins and stops in pursuit of reining’s highest honor—and $1 million prize (8 p.m., CBS).

SUNDAY, Aug. 23
Celebrating Katherine Hepburn
Spend all day and most of the night with a slate of classic films, including Little Women (1933), Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Philadelphia Story (1940), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), Rooster Cogburn (1975) and more (begins 8 a.m, TCM).

MONDAY, Aug. 24
Revival
New supernatural horror series—based on a comic book about the dead coming back to life in a small town—stars Melanie Scrofano, Romy Weltman and David James Elliott (Netflix).


NFL Hometown Eats
Celebrity superfans Eva Longoria, Joel McCale and Rebel Wilson, above, huddle with NFL players to explore the best restaurants around their home stadiums (Roku Channel).

TUESDAY, Aug. 25
Jeopardy! Masters
Former champs of the brainy game show return in a tournament to see who’ll bring home the grand prize of half a million dollars (8 p.m., Hulu).

Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World
American Masters doc about the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, with readings of her work by Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Colbert, Steve Buscemi and Oprah Winfrey (9 p.m., PBS).

The Deb
Actress Rebel Wilson makes her directorial debut and stars in this  musical comedy. above, about a pair of cousins hoping to attend a debutante ball in a small Australian town (available on demand).

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 26
The Last Sunrise
A college student with a chronic illness finds romance with a young man on a summer vacation before her condition suddenly worsens and everything begins to unravel. Starring Maia Reficco, Eva Longoria and Fernando Lindez (Prime Video).

THURSDAY, Aug. 27
Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look
Gamers can get a sneak peak of the features, storylines and characters of the newest edition of the hit videogame ahead of its on-sale date of Nov. 19 (Netflix).

The Undeclared War
Tonight begins season two of the British thriller starring Simon Pegg, about a counterintelligence team dealing with the devastating aftermath of a Russian cyber-attack (Peacock).

The Adults
Season two of the comedy series about 20-somethings in New York trying to navigate friendship, jobs, love, work and family (9 p.m., FX).

READ ALL ABOUT IT


It’s here today. But will it be gone tomorrow? Historian James Crawford’s The Vanishing Earth (Bloomsbury) examines how humanity has taken more from the planet than this ol’ globe could ever give back, exacting an enormous toll on resources like rock, metal, sand, water…and even our thoughts. What’s been the cause of our insatiable appetites, and can we possibly save our relationship with nature?

BRING IT HOME

The Sheep Detectives (Alliance Home Entertainment) is a heartwarming whodunnit—about sheep who become detectives, duh!—starring Hugh Jackman and Emma Thompson. Find out why this all-ages charmer was a critically hailed success all over the world.

Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas star in Power Ballad (Lionsgate Home Entertainment), about a past-his-prime wedding singer and a fading boy-band star, and what happens when they have a hit song. It’s a toe-tapping, feel-good buddy comedy.

Saddle up with Marshals (Alliance Home Entertainment), season one of the hit CBS series starring Luke Grimes—a long way away from his previous roles in two Fifty Shades movies—as a former U.S. Navy SEAL now in a special group of U.S. Marshals in Montana.

Season three of Reacher (Alliance Entertainment), based on the popular novels by Lee Childs, stars Alan Ritchson as former military police officer Jack Reacher, now living as a drifter and confronting more bad guys, corruption and conspiracies. With Sonya Cassidy and Anthony Michael Hall.

Now available on Blu-ray, filmmaker Ken Burns’ sprawling, 12-hour, six-part PBS series on The American Revolution fleshes out the roots, and the revolutionaries, of the rebellion that led to the United States of America. And if you’re watching (and listening) closely, you’ll catch the celebrity character voices of Adam Arkin, Ethan Hawke, Kenneth Branaugh, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton and more. Buy it HERE

For the first time, 1998’s Practical Magic (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) is available of super-hi-definition 4K. The romantic fantasy stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as sisters descended from a long line of witches, now schooled in “practical magic.” But will their modern witch-y know-how come in handy when an evil spirit takes over one of their boyfriends?

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Ready to rock and roll all night? KISS Destroys Anahem ’76 is a new sonic souvenir of the band’s fan-packed California show in their heyday, wowin’ the crowd with “Detroit Rock City,” “Strutter,” “Shout It Out Loud,” “Rock and Roll All Night” (of course) and many more blasts from the past.

Aug 14 2026
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Books, Movies, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to Watch, and More! Week of Aug. 14 – 20

Blake Lively swims with sharks! Gypsy Rose Lee takes it off! A real-life Lion King! A lot of Robert Redford! Superhero sexism! And more!

Robert Redford and Paul Newman star in ‘The Sting,’
one of several flicks included in TCM’s all-day salute.

FRIDAY, Aug. 14
Hellcat
A woman (Dakota Gorman) wakes in a moving camper trailer with a horrifying wound, warned by the driver that they have one hour to get to a doctor. As the pain sets in and reality begins to fray, who should really be afraid? (Shudder).

Whitmer Thomas: Terminal Crew of Dudes
Standup comedy special from the comedian-musician-actor, best known for his voice role on the FXX comedy series Quackers (9 p.m., HBO Max).

SATURDAY, Aug. 15
Honest Renovations
Get the tool belt ready for another season of Jessia Alba and Lizzy Mathis, above, doing home makeovers and telling families about the realities of parenting (Roku Channel).

The Shallows
Blake Lively, below, stars in this 2016 Jaws-esque adventure as a young swimmer trapped alone on a rock by a great white shark. Fun fact: She was pregnant with her second child while filming! (Netflix).


SUNDAY, Aug. 16
Lanterns
New series follows intergalactic cops (Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre) drawn into a dark mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland (HBO).

Bergerac
Re-imaging of the late ‘80s TV series stars Damien Molony as a broken detective, battling his demons after the death of his wife (3 a.m., PBS).

MONDAY, Aug. 17
Donkey Hodie
New season of the animated kids’ show (with a title that grownups might recognized as a pun on Don Quixote) about animals working together to find solutions to everyday problems (PBS Kids).

Gypsy
1962 musical comedy-drama about famed stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, starring Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood (above) and Carl Malden (9:30 p.m., TCM)

TUESDAY, Aug. 18
Take a Hike!
Unscripted reality series features Korean singer Car the Garden (yes, that’s his name!) as he balances his weight-loss meds with the grueling demands of mountain hiking (Netflix).

Celebrating Robert Redford
Enjoy a full day and night of classic and fan-favorite films starring Redford, starting with 1966’s The Chase, followed by The Great Waldo Pepper, The Candidate, The Electric Horseman, The Sting, Out of Africa and more (begins 7:30 a.m., TCM).

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 19
Lion
Coming-of-age documentary of a young lion, filmed over four years, as he grows up to become leader of his pride—a real-life lion king! (National Geographic).

Swiss Army Man
If you missed it in theaters back in 2016, catch it now on TV. It’s a wild tale of a shipwreck survivor and a flatulent corpse (yes, you read that correctly), starring Paul Dano (who never met a crazy role he couldn’t sink his teeth into), Daniel Radcliff (eons away from Harry Potter) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Netflix).

THURSDAY, Aug. 19
Disney Worldbuilders
Meet directors and writers who reflect on the memories, moments and creative breakthroughs that shaped their movies and turned them into Disney franchises (Disney+).

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: The Wolf in Winter
Documentary about the tennis star who became the most accomplished champion player in the sport’s history (Prime Video).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Football endures! In Strike Season (Simon & Schuster), author Michael Eck tells the true underdog tale of his high school football team, the Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh) Blue Devils, that continued their playing schedule after their coaches left in a 1979 teacher’s strike.

How much is AI affecting our lives? A lot, says Pope Leo IX in his new book Magnifica Humanitas (Melville House), a word of warning about the destructive power of artificial intelligence—and his advice for maintaining our humanity in the rising tide of a tech shows no signs of abating.

History buffs will dig into The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry (Thames & Hudson), an examination of a piece of linen displaying pivotal episodes in English history, including the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the Norman conquest of Britain, that scholars believe is a thousand years old. The book is being released in paperback to time with an exhibition of the Tapestry, for the first time since it was made.

Do superhero movies stereotype female characters? Author Jeannette H. Ronson answers with a resounding yes in Superhero Sexism (McFarland), an examination of how movies and television often present females through a misogynistic, racist lens, representing them as gender non-conforming, sexually threatening, deceptive, hysterical or inherently evil.

BRING IT HOME

Director Tim Burton’s campy classic Mars Attacks! (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) gets a 30th anniversary spiff-up with new bonus content and behind-the-scenes goodies. Plus, you’ll get to see the all-star cast of Jack Nicholson, Jack Black, Glenn Close, Annette Bening and Lisa Marie (yes, Elvis’ daughter!) fighting aliens in all their 1990s glory.



Aug 07 2026
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Books, DVDs, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to watch, and more! Week of Aug. 7 – Aug. 13

A Batman trio, exploring age-gap love, and Bear Gryllis goes Biblical.

The late Heath Ledger left an indelible impression as The Joker in “The Dark Knight,” airing this week as part of a trilogy of director Christopher Nolan’s fan-favorite flicks about the caped crusader.

FRIDAY, Aug. 7
Alley Cats
Funnyman Ricky Gervais directs and provides the main voice for this animated kid-centric tale about the lives of a group of feral felines (Netflix).

The Last House
Greta Lee leads the cast of this sci-fi thriller about a family of four, below, who are suddenly sealed inside their home with no way out (Netflix).

Age Inappropriate
New unscripted series explore the real lives of modern age-gap relationships (9 p.m., We TV).

SATURDAY, Aug. 8
She Stole My Son’s Heart
Detectives search for a missing woman (Taylor Hickson) with a failing transplanted heart (8 p.m., Lifetime).

Batman Trilogy
Watch all three of director Christoper Nolan’s critically hailed and fan-favorite movies about the caped crusader: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Night Rises (2 p.m., TBS).

SUNDAY, Aug. 9
The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls
The TV survivalist leads the cast from the Biblical series The Chosen to take on challenges across forests, deserts, and canyons (Prime Video).


While You Were Sleeping
1995 romcom about a hospital misunderstanding that leads to hilarious romantic deception, starring Peter Gallagher and Sandra Bullock (8:33 p.m., ABC).

MONDAY, Aug. 10
Michael
Big-screen 2026 biopic of superstar-in-the-making Michael Jackson comes to the small screen, with the late singer’s own nephew, Jaafar Jackson, in the title role and Colman Domingo as the Jackson’s domineering dad (Starz).

TUESDAY, Aug. 11
Coroner to the Stars
Learn about the extraordinary journey of Dr. Thomas Noguchi (above), the former Los Angeles medical examiner and corner whose groundbreaking autopsies became a part of American culture (streaming on demand).

Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Seahawks
Join the Seahawks at their training camp in Renton, Wash., as head coach Mike Macdonald puts them through their paces in hopes of a new season of NFL glory (9 p.m., HBO Max).

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 12
Women in Blue (Las Azules)
Second season begins of the Spanish-language drama about female police recruits in the 1970s, this time pulled into a student-massacre investigation (Apple TV).

Reacher
Season five begins of the hit action-drama-conspiracy series starring Alan Richman and based on the fan-favorite books by author Lee Childs (Prime Video).

THURSDAY, Aug. 13
MLB Field of Dreams
Just like in the movie, but in real life! The Minnesota Twins take on the Philadelphia Phillies on the fabled “cornfield” diamond where Kevin Costner had a most memorable game of catch back in the ‘90s (Netflix).

A Child of My Own
In this documentary, the profound desire to become a mother and the constant pressure from her surroundings drive a young woman to fake a pregnancy (Netflix).

BRING IT HOME

If you’re ready for an acclaimed mind-bending horror flick, check out Exit 8 (Decal Neon). Critics raved about this tale, loosely based on a popular videogame, about a man caught in a looping subway, who must figure his way out. Extras include an interview with the director, Genki Kawamura.

Hungry (Decal Partners) is a British survival horror film about vacationers on a Louisiana bayou…and one rampaging hippo with a voracious appetite. Starring Madison Davenport, Samantha Couglan and Joaquin de Almeida.

Adam Scott stars in Hokum (Decal Neon), about a novelist on a retreat to scatter the ashes of his dead parents in Ireland, becoming entangled in local folktales about witches. Good stuff for a “summerween” movie night!

Ryan Gosling stars in Project Hail Mary (Alliance Home Entertainment), a dose of dire out-of-this-world sci-fi with an often-humorous twist. He plays a reluctant astronaut on a last-ditch mission to save the stars—including our sun—from extinction. Then he meets a fellow traveler on the same mission…and he’s not human.

Jackie Chan and a CGI panda cub stumble into a magical land and a mysterious primitive tribe in the kid-friendly Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe (Well Go USA).

Rock like it’s the ’80s again with L.A. Guns: Live at the Guild Theater (MVD Entertainment), a live-in-concert catch from last year of the heavy-metal Sunset Strip headbangers (who would eventually merge with Guns N’ Roses) reunited and performing in Menlo Park, Calif., performing banging tunes like “Sex Action,” “Rip and Tear” and “Lucky Motherf*cker.”

READ ALL ABOUT IT

How do you write a newspaper obituary? In Are They Dead Yet: The Art of the Obit (Bloomsbury), author Sam Roberts (a decade-long veteran of New York newspaper obituary writing) dives into the almost forgotten art, and the unique experiences, of distilling life into a few paragraphs.

Art is more than the Mona Lisa or a Rembrandt painting. In Depraved: The Story of Dangerous Art (Viking), Daisy Dixon takes a deep, long look at the history of art meant not meant to beautify or sooth, but rather to disturb, rattle and provoke, with side trips into censorship, obscenity and the eternal debate over right and wrong.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

California has almost 900 miles of coastline, much of it breathtaking in its beauty. But offshore, west past the surfers and cargo ships, is the California Current, a swath of 1,900 miles of some of the most productive waters on the planet. In Tin Can Coast (Bloomsbury), author Joseph Ogilvy shows how the rich resources of the Current became fodder for the processed tuna industry, a catalyst for Cannery Row fat cats, and literary muses for author John Steinbeck and filmmaker Fritz Lang.

Jul 31 2026
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Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Sports, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to Watch, and More! Week of July 31 – Aug. 6

Revisit “Clueless,” get sluggin’ with “Fightland” & welcome back, “Ted Lasso”

The hit series “Ted Lasso” returns Wednesday night.

FRIDAY, July 31
Fightland
A disgraced, formerly incarcerated boxing champion seeks vengeance against the crime syndicate he thinks betrayed him. Starring Anita-Joy Uwajeh, Charles Babalola and Tahirah Sharif (Starz).

Snoopy Presents: There’s No Place Like Home, Snoopy
New animated special follows the Peanuts gang on great-outdoors adventures at a summer camp (Apple TV).

SATURDAY, Aug. 1
Killer Clown
Inspired by real stories, Sara Paxton stars as a woman haunted by the murder of her mom by a local killer (8 p.m., Lifetime).

Clueless
Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd star in this 1995 comedy, above, about a Beverly Hills high school matchmaker (Netflix).

Monster Month
Tonight begins a full month of “monster” programming, kicking off with Bigfoot and continuing through the Loch Ness Monster, dinosaurs, piranhas, sharks, jellyfish and more! (8 a.m., Story Television).

SUNDAY, Aug. 2
The Librarians: The Next Chapter
The fantasy-adventure series returns for a second season with more mystery, magic and mayhem—including crossing paths with the legendary magician Merlin (Dominic Monaghan). (9 p.m., TNT).

Naked & Afraid: Shipwrecked
A dozen of all-star players from previous Naked & Afraid seasons are dropped into rafts in the ocean in darkness, and have to find their way to shore to become stranded on a mysterious island (8 pm., Discovery Channel).

Decades in Sports
Original series co-produced by Tom Hanks explores the cultural and political milestones that transformed sports and helped shape America (9 p.m., CNN).

MONDAY, Aug. 3
Futurama
Season 14 of the hit animated comedy series begins tonight, furthering the futuristic fun with a new wave of space pirates, lab-grown meats, sexy scams… and the shocking return of Dr. Zoidberg’s lost love! (Hulu).

Let’s Marry Harry
Reality dating competition where Aussie social media personality and podcaster Harry Jowsey tries to choose between three female suitors (Netflix).

TUESDAY, Aug. 4
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place
Four-part finale event of the teen-fantasy sitcom, a spinoff of the 2007-2012 series, kicks off tonight (Disney Channel).

Glenn Ford & Stella Stevens starred in “Advance to the Rear.”

Celebrating Glenn Ford
The prolific actor from Hollywood’s Golden Age of the 1940s and ’50s is featured in an all-day slate of films, including Don’t Go Near the Water (1957), The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1963), Advance to the Rear (1964) and The Blackboard Jungle (1955) (TCM).

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 5
Sterling Point
Coming-of-age drama series about a teenage girl who inherits her mysterious grandfather’s island in Canada. Starring Ella Rubin, Jay Duplass and Keen Ruffalo (Prime Video).

Ted Lasso
What soccer hijinks lie ahead for the hit series starring Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham and Juno Temple? Tune in tonight as the Emmy-winning series begins its fourth season (Apple TV).

THURSDAY, Aug. 6
The Shards
Teen horror-thriller series from producer Ryan Murphy set in the early ‘80s about a prep-school guys…and a serial killer. Based on a bestselling novel by Bret Easton Ellis (FX).

Monsters of God
A gonzo deep-dive documentary series about the dangerous and crazy world of people obsessed with hunting—and illegally smuggling—all sorts of reptiles (HBO).

Ritual Season
Tune in for tonight’s episode about how rituals in the American South shape identity, preserve history and sustain communities (Independent Lens on PBS).

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The latest in the series of pop music picked bluegrass-style is Pickin’ on Post Malone (CMH Records) with toe-tapping versions of Nashville-based rapper’s tunes like “Sunflower,” “Chemical,” “Lemon Tree” and “rockstar.” Musicians include the Iron Horse band, J.D. Casper and Holler Choir.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Movie fans, have you ever noticed how much the terrain in The Hunger Games flicks looks—and feels—a lot like Appalachia? Well, Elizabeth Baird Holly has, and in Appalachia in The Hunger Games (McFarland) she focuses on the parallels of the fictional story’s dystopia and the terrain, people and culture of the mountainous Southeast.

In Madhouse Movies (McFarland), you’ll learn from a collection of essays how Hollywood has portrayed insanity and institutions for the insane—and it’s everything from comedy to horror, and all points in-between. Grab your straitjacket and c’mon in!

Do you ever feel like you’re being manipulated at the movies? Well, you certainly are, and Games Directors Play (McFarland) shows you how skillful filmmakers draw from a deep toolkit of time-tested techniques to pull you into stories, make you “feel,” and connect your emotions to what you’re seeing.

BRING IT HOME

Mortal Kombat II, the dark-fantasy follow-up to the 2021 action flick based on the highly popular videogame franchise, follows a martial-arts actor (Karl Urban) recruited to join an inter-dimensional tournament to determine the fate of the universe. And you thought what you do is important!

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Groove again to the jammin’ sounds of WAR with the new 50th anniversary reissue of the band’s Greatest Hits (Rhino), showcasing the California-based ensemble’s signature blend of funk, soul, rock, jazz, and Latin sounds on hits like “Low Rider,” “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” “The World is a Ghetto” and “Summer.”

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