Pose feels the love, and so, one assumes, does Love Island
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Tuesday, July 9. All times are Eastern.
Top picks
Pose (FX, 10 p.m.): Tonight’s episode of Pose, written by Ryan Murphy and Janet Mock and directed by Murphy, is a particularly vital one, with terrific performances from Billy Porter, Angelica Ross, Mj Rodriguez, and Hailie Sahar in particular (though as always, the cast is great across the board). We don’t want to say too much—check the preview for “Never Knew Love Like This Before,” embedded below, for more—but there are two things to know. First, it’s a super-sized installment, so the episode won’t end until 11:21 p.m. Second, Danette Chavez’s interview with Ross will run immediately following the episode, as will Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya’s episode recap.
Love Island (CBS, 8 p.m., series premiere): Pose has “Never Knew Love Like This Before,” but Love Island has a whole damn island of love. That’s the idea, anyway. The U.S. version of the hugely popular British reality series of the same name debuts with a 90-minute first episode tonight, after which it will air five nights a week. That’s a lot of hot people dating each other in a large fancy house, on television.
Like other reality shows, the original Love Island has some real off-camera darkness in its universe—there’s a great piece in The Ringer you can check out for more on that, which covers issues relating to mental health, including suicide—but if you like awkwardness, bathing suits, and drama, the island awaits, and so does Eric Thurm’s premiere recap.
Regular coverage
Aziz Ansari: Right Now (Netflix, 3:01 a.m.): comedy special review
The 100 (The CW, 9 p.m.)
Wild card
I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter (HBO, 8 p.m.): The first half of this two-part documentary from Erin Lee Carr (At The Heart Of Gold: Inside The USA Gymnastics Scandal), which focuses much of its time on suicide and issues that surround it, airs tonight. Part two airs tomorrow at the same time.
The doc concerns the 2014 death of 18-year-old Conrad Roy and subsequent arrest and trial of his girlfriend, 17-year-old Michelle Carter, on charges of involuntary manslaughter. The charges followed the discovery of troubling text messages between the two, and Carr pulls liberally from the thousands of messages the pair exchanged in an attempt to understand the relationship and its tragic end. Look for Katie Rife’s review.