What's on TV this week—Only Murders In The Building, Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power
Plus, Jeff Goldblum tackles Zeus, Adam Sandler says "I love you," and more
Steve Martin in OMITB (Photo: Patrick Harbron/Hulu), Morfydd Clark in LOTR: TROP (Photo: Ben Rothstein/Prime Video)Welcome to What’s On, our weekly roundup of notable shows. Here is what’s happening from Sunday, August 25 to Thursday, August 29. All times are Eastern. [Note: The weekend edition of What’s On drops on Fridays.]
The biggies
Only Murders In The Building (Hulu, Tuesday, 12:01 a.m.)
Only Murders In The Building is back for season four, but it’ll be a bit until the show returns to its usual Upper West Side setting. The new episodes pick up with Mabel (Selena Gomez), Charles (Steve Martin), and Oliver (Martin Short) jetting off to L.A. because Hollywood wants to turn their true-crime podcast into a movie. That means a flurry of big-name guest stars join the Hulu comedy as themselves, including Eva Longoria, Eugene Levy, and Zach Galifianakis. But don’t worry, our fave trio will still solve Sazz Pataki’s (Jane Lynch) murder from the season-three finale. This round’s roster also includes Molly Shannon, Kumail Nanjiani, Richard Kind, Melissa McCarthy, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Jin Ha, with returning cast members Meryl Streep, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Michael Cyril Creighton. The A.V. Club will recap the show weekly.
Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power (Prime Video, Thursday, 12:01 a.m.)
Middle-earth, here we come. Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s work, the Lord Of The Rings series The Rings Of Power returns for season two. Suaron (Charlie Vickers), who retreated to Mordor once his identity as the Dark Lord was revealed, continues his pursuit to attain those titular rings and total domination. Meanwhile, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) prepares for battle with him in what we hope will be an emotionally brutal reunion. The epic fantasy also stars Ismael Cruz Córdova, Benjamin Walker, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Jim Broadbent, Robert Aramayo, and Rory Kinnear. The A.V. Club will recap the show weekly.
Hidden gems
Horror’s Greatest (Shudder, Tuesday, 3:01 a.m.)
Shudder exists to please die-hard fans of horror, so what’s better than honoring the genre’s best offerings? Horror’s Greatest digs into tropes, actors, designs, music, and special effects that make it tick and features interviews with David Dastmalchian, the Boulet Brothers, and Jenn Wexler, among others, for their takes on things that go bump in the night.
Kaos (Netflix, Thursday, 3:01 a.m.)
After treating us to The End Of The F***ing World, series creator Charlie Covell explores Greek mythology in his new dramedy Kaos. In the show, a powerful Zeus (Jeff Goldblum) realizes he’s aging and assumes his reign is over, which might bring on the apocalypse. Even his wife Hera (Janet McTeer) is unable to calm his paranoia. Meanwhile, his nemesis Prometheus (Stephen Dillane) is planning an attack with the help of three clueless humans who don’t know their osmic significance. David Thewlis, Aurora Perrineau, Debi Mazar, Nabhaan Rizwan, and Billie Piper co-star. The A.V. Club‘s review publishes on Thursday.
More good stuff
Adam Sandler: Love You (Netflix, Tuesday, 3:01 a.m.)
Adam Sandler returns to the stage six years after his last comedy special with Love You, directed by his Uncut Gems collaborator Josh Safdie. Based on the trailer, it looks like a low-key affair in which Sandler, dressed in a comfy hoodie, talks casually about his life, says “I love you” plenty, and performs a musical number.
Terminator Zero (Netflix, Thursday, 3:01 a.m.)
The eight-episode anime series Terminator Zero boasts a killer voice cast that includes Timothy Olyphant, André Holland, Sonoya Mizuno, Ann Dowd, and Rosario Dawson. The show expands the Terminator franchise with a tale about Malcolm Lee, who has developed another A.I. system in 1990s Japan. As Judgment Day approaches, a soldier from 2022 arrives to protect Lee and his sons from imminent danger.
Can’t miss recaps
Industry (HBO, Sunday, 9 p.m.)
Ending soon
Orphan Black: Echoes (AMC, Sunday, 10 p.m., season one finale)