6 things you have to watch on TV this weekend
House Of The Dragon is finally here, Sharon Horgan stars in a new dramedy, and more
Welcome to the weekend edition of What’s On. Here are the big things happening on TV from Friday, August 19, to Sunday, August 21. All times are Eastern. [Note: The weekly What’s On will publish on Sundays.]
1. The world gets to see Game Of Thrones’ first spin-off, House Of The Dragon
Sunday, HBO, 9 p.m.: It took about three years, but we’re finally returning to Westeros. Game Of Thrones’ spin-off House Of The Dragon (the first of several, apparently) is a fantasy drama based on George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. Set 200 years before GOT, the prequel follows the beginning of the end of House Targaryen. The cast includes Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Rhys Ifans, Olivia Cooke, and Steve Touissant. The A.V. Club will recap the show weekly.
2. Sharon Horgan’s sharp comedy Bad Sisters arrives
Friday, Apple TV+, 12:01 a.m.: This is Sharon Horgan’s year. After appearing in The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent and co-creating Starz’s Shining Vale, the Catastrophe actor is ready with her next project. As part of a first-look deal, she created Apple TV+’s Bad Sisters, a murder mystery in which four sisters attempt to kill the abusive husband of their fifth sibling. Here’s an excerpt from The A.V. Club’s review:
The show is a rush of dark wit and fierce familial love. Horgan is the second eldest of five children herself, and there is a familiarity to the way the sisters fight and protect and criticize and cherish each other. They break each other apart and then stoop to pick up the pieces all in the same scene. The show doesn’t shy away from its name, committing to demonstrating the ways in which the sisters are “bad”—but there’s never a moment you aren’t on their side.
3. Netflix presents Australian thriller Echoes
Friday, Netflix, 3:01 a.m.: In Echoes, Michelle Monaghan plays twins Leni and Gina, who have secretly swapped lives since they were children, building a double life where they share two homes, husbands, and a child. Everything goes awry when one of them goes missing. Matt Bomer, Daniel Sunjata, Ali Stroker, and Jonathan Tucker also star.
4. Amazon Freevee (that’s a thing) introduces Sprung
Friday, Amazon Freevee, 12:01 a.m.: In case you need a refresher first, Amazon Freevee, formerly known as IMDb TV, is a free, ad-supported streaming platform within Prime Video. Created by Greg Garcia, Sprung stars Martha Plimpton, Garret Dillahunt, Kate Walsh, Shakira Barrera, Phillip Garcia, Clare Gilles, and James Earl. It follows a convicted criminal, Jack, who is determined to turn his life around after over two decades in prison. With no place to live during the lockdown, he shelters with an unlikely group of former inmates.
5. Apple TV+ expands its kids programming with Surfside Girls
Friday, Apple TV+, 12:01 a.m.: Kids’ show Surfside Girls is based on Kim Dwinell’s graphic novels of the same name and follows best friends Sam (YaYa Gosselin) and Jade (Maya Cech) as they solve supernatural mysteries in their sleepy California beach town.
6. Netflix drops another thriller, The Girl In The Mirror
Friday, Netflix, 3:01 a.m.: Spanish-language horror drama The Girl In The Mirror centers on Alma (Mireia Oriol), the sole survivor of a car crash who wakes up with amnesia. Disoriented and traumatized, she tries to unravel the mystery behind the accident.