What's on TV this week—The Afterparty, Full Circle, What We Do In The Shadows
Plus: Michelle Buteau's Netflix comedy, Project Greenlight is back, Peacock's Zodiac Killer doc, and more
Welcome to What’s On, our weekly picks of must-watch shows. Here’s what you need to watch from Sunday, July 9, to Thursday, July 13. All times are Eastern. [Note: The weekend edition of What’s On drops on Fridays.]
The biggies
The Afterparty (Apple TV+, Wednesday, 12:01 a.m.)
Chris Miller’s fun murder mystery comedy, The Afterparty, is back. Sam Richardson, Zoë Chao, and Tiffany Haddish reprise their roles, with Haddish’s Detective Danner being called on to solve a murder at a wedding that Aniq and Zoe are attending. A new ensemble awaits in the form of Zach Woods, Anna Konkle, John Cho, Poppy Liu, Jack Whitehall, Elizabeth Perkins, Ken Jeong, and Paul Walter Hauser. Like in season one, season two’s episodes will change genres depending on the character’s perspective. Expect a ’90s thriller, a Jane Austen period piece, and a Wes Anderson-style episode. Look for The A.V. Club’s review next week.
Full Circle (Max, Thursday, 3:01 a.m.)
Steven Soderbergh directs Max’s Full Circle, which features a loaded cast. Claire Danes, Zazie Beetz, Timothy Olyphant, Jharrel Jerome, and Dennis Quaid star in this suspenseful miniseries about an investigation into a botched kidnapping that uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in present-day New York City. Look for The A.V. Club’s review next week.
What We Do In The Shadows (FX, Thursday, 10 p.m.)
Praise the TV gods for bringing What We Do In The Shadows back. FX’s genius comedy returns for a fifth season with everyone’s favorite Staten Island vampires. In the new episodes, Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) takes center stage as the show answers the question of whether or not this familiar has turned. Meanwhile, Nandor, Laszlo, Nadja, and Colin Robinson continue to do adventurous things like exploring the mall. The A.V. Club will recap the show weekly.
Hidden gems
Myth Of The Zodiac Killer (Peacock, Tuesday, 3:01 a.m.)
The mystery of the Zodiac Killer continues to captivate even 50 years on. Peacock is dropping the two-episode docuseries The Myth Of The Zodiac Killer, in which an unlikely and unconventional theorist sheds a different light on the cold case by asking, “What if the Zodiac Killer never existed in the first place?”
Project Greenlight: A New Generation (Max, Thursday, 3:01 a.m.)
The latest iteration of Project Greenlight comes from Insecure’s Issa Rae. The docuseries spotlights first-time filmmakers and chronicles their directing journeys. This reinvented format, titled A New Generation, chronicles Meku Winbush’s making of the sci-fi film Gray Matter. Kumail Nanjiani and Gina Prince-Bythewood serve as mentors.
Survival Of The Thickest (Netflix, Thursday, 3:01 a.m.)
Stand-up comic and actor Michelle Buteau steps into the rightful role of leading heroine in the comedy-drama series Survival Of The Thickest, adapted from her memoir. Buteau plays Mavis, a struggling stylist rebuilding her life after a devastating breakup. As her career thrives, she learns to embrace a body-positive attitude. Tone Bell, Tasha Smith, and Michelle Visage also star. Look for The A.V. Club’s interview with Buteau next week.
More good stuff
Last Call: When A Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York (HBO, Sunday, 9 p.m.)
True-crime doc Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York tells the story of ’90s serial killer Richard Rogers, who prayed upon gay men in New York City. It also explores how the attitude of the time, especially the biases in the criminal justice system, allowed his crimes to occur.
See It Loud: The History Of Black Television (CNN, Sunday, 9 p.m.)
CNN’s five-part documentary series See It Loud celebrates the achievements of Black actors and creators in Hollywood and examines their impact on today’s culture. The series takes viewers on a journey from sitcoms like The Jeffersons to blockbuster dramas. It also examines emerging opportunities for Black voices in sci-fi and horror, and will feature interviews with Loni Love, Mo’Nique, Tisha Campbell, Vivica A. Fox, Omari Hardwick, Gabrielle Union, Desus & Mero, Lamorne Morris, Debbie Allen, and Sherri Shepherd, among others.
Quarterback (Netflix, Wednesday, 3:01 a.m.)
Netflix continues its run of sports docuseries, following up Drive To Survive, Break Point, and Full Swing with Quarterback. The streamer has partnered with the NFL for an inside look at the lives of Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, and Marcus Mariota. The three quarterbacks wore mics for every game during the 2022 season for this series.
Can’t miss recaps
The Righteous Gemstones (HBO, Sunday, 10 p.m.)
Secret Invasion (Disney+, Wednesday, 3:01 a.m.)
And Just Like That… (Max, Thursday, 3:01 a.m.)
Arriving now
Miracle Workers (TBS, Monday, 10 p.m., season four premiere)
Bluey (Disney+, Wednesday, 3:01 a.m., season three premiere)
Ending soon
Cannes Confidential (Acorn TV, Monday, 3:01 a.m., season one finale)
How I Met Your Father (Hulu, Tuesday, 12:01 a.m., season two finale)
Platonic (Apple TV+, Wednesday, 12:01 a.m., season one finale)
The Blacklist (NBC, Thursday, 9 p.m., season 10 finale)