‘Saul’s Last Hurrah, ‘Bachelorette,’ ‘Days’ Goes Beyond Salem, ‘Claim to Fame’
With only six more episodes to go, Better Call Saul resumes its final season after a killer cliffhanger. The Bachelorette doubles up with two women looking for love. Daytime staple Days of Our Lives streams a second season of the Beyond Salem spinoff, with supercouple Bo and Hope (Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso) back in action. Two Jonas brothers host a reality competition involving incognito sibs from famous families.
Better Call Saul
Now you’ve got our attention. In the May cliffhanger at the final season’s midpoint, Jimmy/Saul (Bob Odenkirk) and his life-partner in deception, Kim (Rhea Seehorn), were gobsmacked when fugitive cartel boss Lala Salamanca (Tony Dalton) busted in on their confrontation with disgraced lawyer Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian) and without blinking put a bullet in poor Howard’s head. The fallout will play out in what’s bound to be an intense episode, notably titled “Point and Shoot.”
The Bachelorette
Season Premiere
Under the theory that two single ladies are better than one, the 19th season of the dating competition for the first time features dual (though not dueling, let’s hope) bachelorettes, each seeking a soulmate on camera. After being done dirty by Bachelor Clayton Echard earlier this year, flight instructor Rachel Recchia and nurse Gabby Windey, both from Illinois, take the measure of 32 bachelors before beginning to cull the herd. Jesse Palmer returns as host.
Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem
Series Premiere
The long-running daytime drama spins off with its second weeklong miniseries (episodes drop through Friday), featuring the much-anticipated return of soap supercouple Hope and Bo (Kristian Alfonso and Peter Reckell) and appearances by other Days icons including Eileen Davidson (Kristen), Deidre Hall (Marlena) and Drake Hogestyn (John Black). The globe-trotting action spans from Monte Carlo to Hong Kong as family reunions take a back seat to danger.
Claim to Fame
Series Premiere
There’s only one degree of separation among the participants in this offbeat competition series, hosted by Jonas siblings Kevin, the eldest, and Frankie, the youngest (bros of Nick and Joe, not-so-incidentally). Fame brings relatives of 12 celebs (including Zendaya, Whoopi Goldberg and Chuck Norris) under one roof, where they compete in challenges and strive to keep their identities secret and thus avoid elimination. The winner gets $100,000 and possible bragging rights at the next family reunion.
Inside Monday TV:
- Below Deck Mediterranean (8/7c, Bravo): Captain Sandy brings on a trio of new department heads for the seventh season when his 163-foot hybrid motor yacht drops anchor outside Malta.
- BBQ USA (9/8c, Food Network): Chef and cookbook author Michael Symon buckles up to host this six-episode travel guide to America’s hottest barbecue competitions, starting with a visit to Kansas, where 70 teams battle it out in rain or shine for $10,000.
- Maui Shark Mystery (10/9c, National Geographic): SharkFest continues with a jaunt to Hawaii, with a team of female scientists investigating the crowds of tiger sharks that gather annually in Maui. Other SharkFest highlights: the season premiere of the six-part When Sharks Attack (8/7c), the drone’s-eye-view special Sky Sharks (9/8c) and, on ESPN, Game of Sharks (9/8c) and Great White vs. Tiger Shark (10/9c).
- Wuhan Wuhan (10/9c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): The POV anthology launches its 35th season with a documentary looking back at the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Chinese community where it was first discovered.
- Breeders (10/9c, FX): The dark domestic comedy ends its third season with parents Paul (Martin Freeman) and Ally (Daisy Haggard) at the breaking point, when their latest argument is interrupted by news from daughter Ava (Eve Prenelle).
