What's on TV this week—Dune: Prophecy, Interior Chinatown, A Man On The Inside

Welcome to What’s On, our weekly roundup of notable shows. Here is what’s happening from Sunday, November 17 to Thursday, November 21. All times are Eastern. [Note: The weekend edition of What’s On drops on Fridays.]   

The biggies

Dune: Prophecy (HBO, Sunday, 9 p.m.) 

Forget the Atreides clan. It’s time for the Bene Gesserit to shine. Dune: Prophecy, set 10,000 years before Denis Villeneuve’s films, explores the origin story of this powerful sisterhood of soothsayers. The prequel’s six installments chart how siblings Valya (Emily Watson) and Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams) brought an army of women together to fight threatening forces. The ensemble also features Jessica Barden, Emma Canning, Jodhi May, Mark Strong, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Aoife Hinds, Tabu, and Travis Fimmel. The A.V. Club will recap the show weekly.

Interior Chinatown (Hulu, Tuesday, 12:01 a.m.)

Charles Yu adapts his bestselling novel into this entertaining dramedy, which centers on Willis Wu (Jimmy O. Yang), a meek waiter who breaks out of his shell while investigating the disappearance of his brother. Chloe Bennet, Ronny Chieng, Tzi Ma, Archie Kao, Diana Lin, Chris Pang, Lisa Gilroy, and Sullivan Jones round out the cast. Check out The A.V. Club‘s review of the show.

A Man On The Inside (Netflix, Thursday, 3:01 a.m.)

Mike Schur reunites with Ted Danson for his new comedy A Man On The Inside (based on the 2020 doc The Mole Agent). In the show, Danson plays a retired widower who ends up becoming an undercover spy at a San Francisco senior living community. Stephanie Beatriz, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Sally Struthers, Stephen McKinley-Henderson, and Eugene Cordero co-star. Look out for The A.V. Club‘s review on Thursday.

More newbies

Landman (Paramount+, Sunday, 3:01 a.m.)

Yellowstone is far from the only Taylor Sheridan drama gracing our screens this fall. His latest series boasts Billy Bob Thornton, who stars (alongside the likes of Ali Larter, Jon Hamm, Demi Moore, Andy Garcia, and Michael Peña) as fixer for an oil company in Texas. Here’s a bit from The A.V. Club‘s review:

The main reason to watch Landman is Thornton. He brings genuine juice to speeches that shouldn’t be as entertaining as they are: pissy little diatribes about clean-energy zealots, sex workers, anti-smoking regulations, governmental red tape, rapacious bankers, and whatever else is under his skin at the moment.

Leonardo Da Vinci (PBS, Monday, 8 p.m.)

Ken Burns’ two-part docuseries explores how Leonardo da Vinci’s work took off in Italy during a period of war and religious upheaval, influencing generations of innovative talent. The project features insights from contemporary painters, historians, engineers, and others.

Cruel Intentions (Prime Video, Thursday, 12:01 a.m.)

It took long enough but the Cruel Intentions TV series is finally here. The show focuses on two popular, manipulative step-siblings (portrayed by Sarah Catherine Hook and Zac Burgess), the toasts of their college’s Greek life, who try to seduce a student who just so happens to be the Vice President’s daughter. The A.V. Club‘s review publishes on Wednesday.

Other picks

Making Manson (Peacock, Tuesday, 3:01 a.m.)

It looks like society will never get its fill of Charles Manson stories. Billie Mintz’s three-part docuseries Making Manson promises previously unheard audio of the murderer (culled from more than 100 hours of recorded conversations) as well as interviews with his “family.”

Our Oceans (Netflix, Wednesday, 3:01 a.m.)

This Netflix project has a powerful narrator in Barack Obama, and its five episodes dig into ocean life with the help of cutting-edge underwater filmmaking technology.

The Merry Gentlemen (Netflix, Wednesday, 3:01 a.m.)

Britt Robertson and Chad Michael Murray top this Christmas romance, in which a woman (Britt Robertson) tries to save her parents’ performing-arts venue by turning it into a male strip club.

Can’t miss recaps

The Franchise (HBO, Sunday, 10 p.m.) 

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

Shrinking (Apple TV+, Wednesday, 12:01 a.m.) 

Arriving now

Night Court (NBC, Tuesday, 8:30 p.m., season three premiere) 

Based On A True Story (Peacock, Thursday, 3:01 a.m., season two)

The Sex Lives Of College Girls (Max, Thursday, 9:01 p.m., season three premiere) 

Ending soon

Tulsa King (Paramount+, Sunday, 3:01 a.m., season two finale) 

Rescue Hi-Surf (FOX, Monday, 8 p.m., season one fall finale) 

Midnight Family (Apple TV+, Wednesday, 12:01 a.m., season one finale) 

Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. (NBC, Wednesday, 8-11 p.m., fall finales) 

9-1-1, Doctor Odyssey, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, Thursday, 8-11 p.m., fall finales) 

Law & Order (NBC, Thursday, 8 p.m., season 24 fall finale)