What's on TV this week—Rap Sh!t, American Horror Stories

Welcome to What’s On, our weekly picks of must-watch shows. Here’s what you need to watch from Sunday, July 17 to Thursday, July 21. All times are Eastern. [Note: The weekend edition of What’s On drops on Fridays.]

The biggies

Rap Sh!t (HBO Max, Thursday, 3:01 a.m.)

Issa Rae is making her grand return to HBO. Sort of. Months after the end of her groundbreaking comedy Insecure, Rae is executive producing Rap Sh!t. Set in Miami, the show follows estranged high school friends Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion), who reunite to form a rap group. The ensemble includes Jonica Booth, Devon Terrell, RJ Tyler, and Jaboukie Young-White. The eight-episode season will premiere with two episodes. Keep an eye out for The A.V. Club’s review on the site later this week.

A spin-off of Ryan Murphy’s long-running American Horror Story, American Horror Stories is a weekly anthology series that features a different terrifying narrative with each episode. While each installment has new characters, they often tie together thematically. In the brand new trailer, FX finally reveals some of the cast members: Max Greenfield, Cody Fern, Denis O’ Hare, Bella Thorne, Dominique Jackson, Judith Light, Alicia Silverstone, Quvenzhané Wallis, and Gabourey Sidibe.

Hidden gems

Indian Predator: The Butcher Of Delhi (Netflix, Wednesday, 3:01 a.m.)

Directed by Ayesha Sood, this true-crime docuseries tells the story of a Delhi-based serial killer who left the decapitated corpses of his victims at the gate of Tihar jail, one of the largest prison complexes in South Asia. He also kept leaving notes for the cops, challenging them to nab him. Indian Predator will feature interviews with those involved in the case as they discuss how the crimes were unlike anything they’ve seen before.

Bad Exorcist is an irreverent Polish animated comedy about Bogdan Boner, an alcohol-loving, self-taught exorcist-for-hire who chases away spirits, for the right price. Boner careens through the obscene supernatural world using only his wit against powerful forces. Expect ghosts with a side of raunchiness.

Ethan Hawke goes behind the camera for The Last Movie Stars, a six-part documentary chronicling the iconic careers and decades-long partnership of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. It’s described as a definitive history of their dedication to their art, philanthropy, and each other. Martin Scorsese serves as an executive producer of this docuseries.

More good stuff

Love Island USA (Peacock, Tuesday, 3:01 a.m.)

Let’s hope everyone’s ready for some trashy, entertaining reality TV mess. Peacock is bringing its version of Love Island USA (after the show aired on CBS for the first three seasons) to life with the help of hosts Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) and British comedian Iain Sterling. The show, which was filmed at a villa in California, will drop six new episodes each week.

Based on Robyn Carr’s novels of the same name, Virgin River is a romantic drama centered on Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge), a widowed nurse who moves from Los Angeles to a remote Northern California town for a fresh start. While she initially finds that small-town living isn’t all it’s chalked up to be, Mel soon meets and falls for local bar owner Jack (Martin Henderson). In season four, Mel’s dream to become a mother is about to come true, even if she doesn’t know who the baby’s father is yet. Tim Matheson, Annette O’Toole, Colin Lawrence, and Zibby Allen also star.

Black-ish closed out its ABC run earlier this year after eight seasons, but the comedy’s Freeform spin-off about eldest daughter Zoey Johnson (Yara Shahidi) is back for season five. Grown-ish will look quite different this time around, though, since most of the cast exited after season four as the characters graduated from college. But don’t worry, Shahidi is joined by former Black-ish co-star Marcus Scribner, who reprises his role as Zoey’s brother Junior as both of them head to Cal U together.

Can’t miss recaps

Westworld (HBO, Sunday, 10 p.m.)

Better Call Saul (AMC, Monday, 9 p.m.)

Only Murders In The Building (Hulu, Tuesday, 12:01 a.m.)

What We Do In The Shadows (FX, Tuesday, 10 p.m.)

For All Mankind (Apple TV+, Friday, 12:01 a.m.)

RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars (Paramount+, Friday, 3:01 a.m.)

The Rehearsal (HBO, Friday, 11 p.m.)

Ending soon

Dark Winds (AMC, Sunday, 9 p.m., season one finale)

Birdgirl (Adult Swim, Sunday, 11:30 p.m., season two finale)

The Great Muslim American Road Trip (PBS, Tuesday, 10 p.m., season one finale)

Wellington Paranormal (The CW, Wednesday, 8 p.m., season three finale)

The Old Man (FX, Thursday, 10 p.m., season one finale)