Going ‘Behind the Music,’ Summer Olympics, The NBA Draft, The Real ‘Dr. Death,’ A ‘Kill’-er Finale

The iconic Behind the Music series returns with new looks at longtime favorites. At the Olympics, Women’s Gymnastics continues without Simone Biles. In other sports news, the first round of the NBA Draft airs live on ABC and ESPN. Peacock follows up its gripping Dr. Death docudrama with a docuseries about the infamous real-life surgeon. A fictional killer may get her comeuppance in the season finale of Why Women Kill.

Behind the Music

Season Premiere

The iconic docuseries about pop idols returns with new episodes, relocating from VH1 to ViacomCBS’ streaming platform. The format is much the same, with light tabloid-like recaps of music stars’ careers and turbulent personal lives. The new season begins with profiles of Ricky Martin and LL Cool J, and part of the fun is in watching them replay sound bites from their earlier appearances on the original series. This trip down memory lane is especially significant for Martin, whose coming out as gay and subsequent parenthood brought him an emotional balance he rarely enjoyed during his explosive rise to global superstardom.

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Even without Simone Biles participating in the Women’s Gymnastics Individual All-Around competition, the faceoff between members of Team USA and the gold-medalists from ROC should be compelling. (It streams live early in the morning on Peacock and airs in prime time on NBC.) Live prime-time coverage includes swimming and qualifying rounds of track and field. For a complete list of events and where and when to watch, go to nbcolympics.com/schedule.

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

NBA Draft

New NBA stars will be born as ESPN and ABC simulcast the first round of picks. Oklahoma State point guard Cade Cunningham is expected to be the No. 1 pick, with the Detroit Pistols getting first choice for the first time since 1970. Rece Davis hosts ESPN’s coverage with an expert panel, while SportsCenter’s Kevin Negandhi hosts ABC’s telecast, which will go heavy on the backstories of top prospects. Miles Brown of black-ish acts as a backstage correspondent.

Nbc/Peacock

Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story

Series Premiere

If you were left wanting more after watching the gripping Dr. Death miniseries, which dropped earlier this month on the streamer, a four-part docuseries goes straight to the source: the people who played a part in bringing down the criminally negligent Dr. Christopher Duntsch and stopping his reign of operating-room terror. Interviews include Dr. Robert Henderson (pictured, above), Dr. Randall Kirby and ADA Michelle Shughart (played in the series by Alec Baldwin, Christian Slater and AnnaSophia Robb), several of Dr. Duntsch’s surviving victims and his ex-girlfriend.

Allison Tolman Why Women Kill Season 2 Finale Alma
Lisa Rose/Paramount+

Why Women Kill

Season Finale

The second season of the darkly comic melodrama ends on an especially macabre note. Delusional garden-club wannabe Alma Fillcot (Allison Tolman, elevating a thankless role) has gone off the deep end, decked out as a Lady in Red while targeting more adversaries for murder, including her suspicious son-in-law (Jordane Christie as private investigator Vern) and her longtime nemesis, the humbled but vengeful Rita (Lana Parilla). Alma won’t let anything get in the way of her inauguration as Garden Club president, even exasperated husband Bertram (Nick Frost), who’s willing to take the fall, if she’d only slow down: “I can’t keep up with you,” Bertie cries. “You’re always a bloody murder ahead of me!”

Inside Thursday TV:

  • What Not to Design (8/7c, HGTV): Raven-Symoné headlines a special in which she and a team of experts intervene to reverse home-design catastrophes. The format is based on BBC Studios’ What Not to Wear franchise.
  • Jellystone! (streaming on HBO Max): No pick-a-nic basket is safe when Yogi Bear is on the loose. He leads a parade of classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters—including Huckleberry Hound (the town mayor), Top Cat, Jonny Quest, Magilla Gorilla, Auggie Doggie and Doggie Daddy—in a reimagined and modernized homage to the venerable animation brand.
  • The Wine Show (streaming on Sundance Now, Acorn TV and AMC+): In the third season of the intoxicating travelogue, actors and oenophiles Matthew Goode, Matthew Rhys and James Purefoy are joined by The Affair’s Dominic West in a savory trek through Portugal and other locales to learn the history and discover the latest trends in regional wines.
  • Wedding of the Century (streaming on BritBox): To mark the 40th anniversary of the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, a seemingly fairy-tale event that didn’t have a happy ending, a documentary dishes details from insiders including the chief royal florist, the ceremony’s music director, the Royal Navy head baker and a royal photographer.
  • Streaming movie premieres include Immortal (HBO Max), a spin-off of the hit Italian mob drama Gomorrah, and the Netflix rom-com Resort to Love, produced by Alicia Keys and starring Christina Milian as an aspiring singer who books a gig at a tropical hotel only to hit a sour note upon learning that her ex (Saturday Night Live’s Jay Pharoah) is staying there with his new bride.
  • FBoy Island (streaming on HBO Max): Comedian Nikki Glaser hosts yet another twisted twist on the dating-show format, in which three single women meet 24 men on a tropical island, where they try to figure out which of the players are Nice Guys there for romance and which are mercenary FBoys only there for the money. Who will the women choose in this “social experiment”?
  • The Good Fight (streaming on Paramount+): It was only a matter of time before someone (Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson) took renegade fake Judge Wackner (Mandy Patinkin) to actual court, questioning his legality—and his sanity. Jane Curtin is a riot as the skeptical judge. Back at the office, a coup is brewing over Diane’s (Christine Baranski) and conservative lawyer Julius’ (Michael Boatman) status at the progressive Black firm, and Diane pledges to fight the good fight rather than step aside.