Your TV GPS, Globe TV critic Matthew Gilbert’s look at the week ahead in television, appears every Monday morning on BostonGlobe.com. Today’s column covers July 5-11.
THE SHWEEK IN REVIEW
Discovery’s Shark Week has been around since 1988, and its popularity has exploded over the years. It has become a major boon for the channel, attracting high-paying advertisers and many millions of viewers, including people who don’t generally tune in to Discovery. This year, some of the festivities will also take place on the streamer Discovery+.
People love Shark Week for different reasons. For some, it’s an educational-tinged nature-programming event, featuring an animal that is beautiful and yet predatory. We should admire sharks, and we should be terrified of them at the same time. For others, Shark Week offers a more horror-movie-like quality, with thrilling and scary tales — many of them true — in the manner of “Jaws.”
This year’s event launches on Sunday night. Here are some of the highlights of that first programming chunk. I’ll include the rest of the Shark Week schedule in next week’s column.
“Crikey! It’s Shark Week” (Sunday, 8 p.m.) Robert Irwin comes face to face with a Great White Shark alongside conservationists Paul de Gelder and Madison Stewart.
“Tiffany Haddish Does Shark Week” (Sunday, 9 p.m.) Haddish, who hosts the event this year, hopes to learn something about shark sex from the experts.
“Jackass Shark Week Special” (Sunday, 10 p.m.) Johnny Knoxville sends Steve-O, Chris Pontius, and new Jackass cast members out for a series of shark-related stunts.
“Sharkbait with David Dobrik” (Only available on Discovery+) Dobrik and friends encounter sharks during a not-so-routine dive.
WHAT I’M WATCHING THIS WEEK
1. I’m not sure we needed a “Gossip Girl” reboot, but here we all are. On Thursday, HBO Max is premiering a 10-episode return to the world of the 2007-12 CW series, but with an entirely different cast. There are references to the former characters, and Kristen Bell has returned as the voice of Gossip Girl, but all of the private school teens we’ll follow are new. This generation of Upper East Side kids acting like adults includes a Queen Bee, her apostles, a “poor” girl on scholarship, and a few browbeaten teachers. Based on the novels by Cecily von Ziegesar, the series stars Jordan Alexander, Eli Brown, Thomas Doherty, Tavi Gevinson, Emily Alyn Lind, Evan Mock, Zion Moreno, Whitney Peak, and Savannah Lee Smith. XOXO
2. Mike White is a favorite, for writing “Chuck & Buck,” “School of Rock,” “Year of the Dog,” and a few other goodies. One of his best is “Enlightened,” the too-quickly canceled HBO comedy series that he wrote and directed (and costarred in) featuring Laura Dern. Now White is returning to HBO to write and direct another comedy, the miniseries “The White Lotus.” Filmed in Hawaii, the show is set at a tropical resort over the course of a week. It follows the guests as they try to relax, and since White wrote it, there will be plenty of dark satire in the mix. The ensemble cast is promising. Connie Britton, from “Friday Night Lights” and “Nashville,” is here, as well as Steve Zahn (“Treme”) and Jennifer Coolidge, whose long list of credits includes a few Christopher Guest movies. Also, Murray Bartlett, from “Looking,” stars as a particularly passive-aggressive resort worker. It’s on Sunday at 9 p.m.
3. FX’s “What We Do in the Shadows” is a favorite, a funny spinoff of the vampire mockumentary of the same title from creators Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi. Now comes a second spinoff, an import from New Zealand (from 2018) called “Wellington Paranormal” that will air on the CW, of all places. Premiering Sunday at 9 p.m., the comedy follows clueless Officers Minogue and O’Leary from the original film. They track supernatural events including demon possession, haunted houses, and blood bank robberies. By the way, episodes will be available to stream on HBO Max the day after they air on the CW.
4. The blurbs are calling this one a “sardonic docu-series,” so it seems fitting that Peter Dinklage is the narrator. “How to Become a Tyrant,” which premieres Friday on Netflix, looks at dictators in history and their playbook for attaining absolute power. As you can imagine, Hitler will be featured prominently.
5. I was a fan of the early seasons of “Leverage,” the con-artist drama from 2008-12 starring Timothy Hutton. It reminded me of a favorite, “Hustle,” the British series about a gang of swindlers mostly on the right side of justice. On Friday, IMDb TV is reviving “Leverage,” but with Noah Wyle instead of Hutton in the lead. Called “Leverage: Redemption,” it will feature more do-good heists as well as original cast members Beth Riesgraf, Gina Bellman, Christian Kane, and Aldis Hodge.
CHANNEL SURFING
“Cat People” A docuseries on those who love their feline friends. Netflix, Wednesday
“History of the Sitcom” An eight-parter about the birth and evolution of TV comedies. CNN, Sunday, 9 p.m.
“The 2021 ESPY Awards” Anthony Mackie hosts the live annual event. ABC, Saturday, 8 p.m.
RECENTLY REVIEWED
The 10 best shows of 2021 (so far)
“The Beast Must Die” Cush Jumbo and Jared Harris star in this six-part British thriller about a mother avenging the death of her son. AMC, AMC+
“Physical” Rose Byrne’s dark and compelling series is set during the aerobics craze of the 1980s. Apple TV+
“Us” A bittersweet two-part “Masterpiece” about a middle-aged couple traveling in Europe while on the brink of divorce. GBH 2
“Feel Good” The second and final season is textured, funny, and fitted with a clear theme: trauma and recovery from it. Netflix
“Kevin Can F**k Himself” A inventive satire about sitcoms and sexism starring a charming Annie Murphy. AMC, AMC+
“We Are Lady Parts” An entertaining British comedy about the members of an all-female Muslim punk band. Peacock
“Starstruck” A rom-com about the relationship between Rose Matafeo’s London twentysomething and a movie star. HBO Max
Matthew Gilbert can be reached at matthew.gilbert@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewGilbert.
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This week’s TV: ‘Gossip Girl’ returns, sharks are everywhere, and cops trail the supernatural - The Boston Globe
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