Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Thursday, August 18. All times are Eastern.
Top picks
Steven Universe (Cartoon Network, 7 p.m.): Having survived the gauntlet that was the Summer Of Steven (a.k.a. reviewing 21 episodes in 26 days), Eric Thurm finally returns to a leisurely schedule of once-a-week Steven Universe reviews. In “Buddy’s Book,” Connie takes Steven on his very first visit to a library. The duo quickly decide to forgo homework when they discover a mysterious book about the founding of Beach City. As Eric always says, there’s no reason learning can’t be fun!
2016 Summer Olympics (NBC, 8 p.m.): The Rio Summer Olympics are almost over so be sure to soak in these last few days of random sports you won’t think about again for four years. Tonight Usain Bolt competes in the 200-meter race while Ashton Eaton attempts to win another gold in decathlon. Elsewhere, there’s a women’s volleyball semifinal, a men’s volleyball final, and women’s platform diving. Plus javelin, shot put, and hurdles. Oh my!
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (FX, 10 p.m.): Yup, Denis Leary is still doing his Denis Leary thing every Thursday night in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. And with the second season finale just two weeks away, this is as good a time as any to check up on his antics. As far as we can tell from the preview, this episode centers on Leary’s aging rockstar character setting out to date “a really hot 26-year-old.” On second thought, maybe this isn’t such a good time to check up on his antics…
Premieres and finales
60 Days In (A&E, 9 p.m.): It’s the second season premiere of this A&E show that sends volunteers undercover as prison inmates. The hypothetical goal is to “obtain evidence of questionable or illegal activities within the jail that might be missed by the Correctional Officers and surveillance systems.” The inmates, guards, and most of the jail officials are kept in the dark about the project, and the show’s first season—which aired in the spring—actually resulted in several corrections officers being fired. But potential civic value aside, when our own Joshua Alston reviewed the series he noted, “[60 Days In is] bad enough that there would be several punch holes in my living room wall if I could have mustered the energy to get off the couch.” In other words: Watch at your own risk.
Lone Star Law (Animal Planet, 10 p.m.): Animal Planet’s game warden-themed reality show reaches its first season finale tonight. That means the employees of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will have to go back to catching snapping turtles and patrolling shrimp boats without cameras in their faces.
The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore (Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.): After being somewhat unceremoniously canceled earlier this week, The Nightly Show airs its final episode tonight. Larry Wilmore and his staff may not have had a lot of time to assemble their farewell episode, but no doubt they’ll pull together something memorable. (In the first show after the cancellation was announced Wilmore joked, “On the plus side, our show going off the air has to mean one thing: Racism is solved. We did it.”) Journalist Alison Stewart is scheduled to join Wilmore on his last panel, where, hopefully, he’ll keep it 100 and let us know what he really thinks about being replaced (at least temporarily) by @Midnight.
Streaming pick
Doctor Who, “Silence In The Library”/“Forest Of The Dead” (Amazon Prime): Steven’s inaugural trip to the library has us thinking about another genre show in which a library plays a major role. No, not Buffy The Vampire Slayer, we’re talking about this Doctor Who two-parter from 2008. In “Silence In The Library”/“Forest Of The Dead,” the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) and his feisty companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) pay a visit to a 51st century planet-sized book repository called “The Library.” Things get spooky and sexy in equal measure as the Doctor battles creepy shadow monsters and meets River Song (Alex Kingston), a woman intertwined with his future. Written by Steven Moffat before he took over as showrunner, this is one of the more iconic two-parters in Doctor Who history. It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you think, and, most importantly, it’ll make you cry.