Marvel’s What If…? debuts and the Kissing Booth saga ends
Also tonight: Riverdale is back from hiatus and there’s a new Netflix baking reality show
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Wednesday, August 11. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
What If…? (Disney+, 3:01 a.m., series premiere): Now that Marvel Studios and Disney+ have supplied us with live-action fun in the form of WandaVision, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, and Loki, the gears are shifting to animation for the first time. MCU’s superheroes will turn into their animated versions for What If…?, an anthology series by A.C. Bradley that explores alternate timelines in the multiverse to show what would happen if major moments from the films occurred differently. Most of the movie actors return to voice their characters, including Hayley Atwell, Samuel L. Jackson, Chadwick Boseman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Josh Brolin, Jon Favreau, Evangeline Lilly, and Tilda Swinton. Jeffrey Wright voices The Watcher. Sam Barsanti will be recapping the series weekly.
Regular coverage
Riverdale (The CW, 8 p.m.): Charles Bramesco will drop-in for Riverdale’s season five midseason premiere, titled “Strange Bedfellows,” in which Archie (KJ Apa) leads the charge to round up convicts who escaped during a prison break and Betty (Lili Reinhart) realizes Jughead (Cole Sprouse) is missing.
Wild cards
The Kissing Booth 3 (Netflix, 3:01 a.m.): “With its extended montages of road trips, summer bucket lists, flash mobs, water park shenanigans, and elaborate go-kart races, The Kissing Booth 3 doesn’t so much resemble a narrative film as an extended wrap party for the cast. The whole thing has the vibe of an Adam Sandler paid vacation flick, only with barely even the attempt at comedy.” Read the rest of Caroline Siede’s review of the film here.
Bake Squad (Netflix, 3:01 a.m.): Milk Bar founder and MasterChef judge Christina Tosi hosts this new eight-episode Netflix baking reality series. Tosi has selected four bakers: cake expert Ashley Holt, chocolatier Gonzo Jimenez, pastry illusionist Christophe Rull, and pie aficionado Maya-Camille Broussard. They will compete against each other to get their outrageous dessert creations chosen for big events, from weddings to birthday parties.