Alpha’s ‘Dead’ Origin Story, the VMA Awards, ‘Guilt’ on ‘Masterpiece,’ Romance on the (Tennis) Court

Tales of the Walking Dead

SUNDAY: One of The Walking Dead’s more memorable and loathsome villains—and that’s saying something—was Alpha (Samantha Morton), leader of the Whisperers. How did she get so warped? The most chilling episode to date in the new Dead anthology provides an answer, showing Alpha as Dee, a dour widow who’ll do anything to protect her daughter Lydia more than a year into the zombie apocalypse. After tragedy broke their family, they found shelter on a riverboat, where Dee engages in a battle of wills for the soul of her daughter, who has the audacity to still want to seek some joy amid their fight for survival. “I’m the only one who can keep her alive,” Dee insists—but at what cost?

MTV Video Music Awards

SUNDAY: Music and videos once again take center stage on MTV for the annual Video Music Awards, live from Newark’s Prudential Center with hosts—or, rather, DJs—Nicky Minaj (winner of this year’s Video Vanguard Award), LL Cool J and Jack Harlow (tied for the most nominations with Kendrick Lamar and Lil Nas X). They’ll all perform, along with Global Icon Award recipients Red Hot Chili Peppers, performing at the VMAs for the first time since 2000, when they won the Vanguard trophy. Also on the performing roster: Lizzo, Bad Bunny (piped in live from Yankee Stadium), Eminem collaborating with Snoop Dogg, K-Pop band Blackpink, J Balvin, Panic! At the Disco and more.

Guilt

SUNDAY: The darkly comic Masterpiece Mystery! caper from Scotland returns in a four-part sequel, revolving around the intensely watchable Mark Bonnar as lawyer-turned-ex-con Max McCall, who’s barely been released from prison (over his role in a hit-and-run cover-up) when he gets embroiled in more twisty intrigue. All he really wants is revenge against Roy Lynch (Stuart Bowman, replacing Bill Paterson), the crime boss who helped seal his downfall. But first, the long road toward redemption and respectability leads Max to go into business with recovering alcoholic private eye Kenny (the endearing Emun Elliott). The plotting is a lot messier this time around, or maybe the Scottish accents got thicker? But Bonnar is terrific, and he’s matched by Downton Abbey veteran Phyllis Logan as Roy’s ex-wife Maggie, who may have some Lady Macbeth lurking beneath her wounded-sparrow surface. No one’s guilt-free in this scenario. (The first two episodes air Sunday, with two more to follow weekly.)

The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family

SUNDAY: You don’t have to go to the Broadway and touring musical Six—though you should—for another look at the turmoil in the 16th-century court of Henry VIII. A three-part docuseries digs into the history of the family that infamously entered the picture through Henry’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, for whom he severed tied with the Catholic Church before eventually beheading her for trumped-up treason. (He earlier took her sister Mary as a mistress.) The series features interviews with historians and scholars, peppered with dramatizations, many filmed at the Boleyns’ ancestral home, Hever Castle.

Game, Set, Love

SATURDAY: Smartly tying into one of the late summer’s premier sporting events, the U.S. Open (beginning Monday), this tennis romance counts Venus Williams among its executive producers. The movie stars Davida Williams (no relation) as Taylor, a former tennis pro who turns to coaching her former doubles partner Ashley (Jennifer Khoe) and her new teammate, Will (Richard Harmon), with whom Taylor instantly clashes. When Ashley is sidelined and Taylor goes back on the court, three guesses who begins swinging in unison.

Unthinkably Good Things

SUNDAY: Launching a new slate of movies as an extension of its diverse Mahogany brand, Hallmark heads to the unthinkably beautiful paradise of Tuscany for the story of Allison (The Morning Show’s Karen Pittman), a visiting professor who leans on her best friends (Erica Ash and Joyful Drake) when facing a career and romantic crossroads. Should she follow her heart and stay in Italy or go back to the States for professional advancement?

Inside Weekend TV:

• Summer Under the Stars (starts 6 am/5c, Saturday and Sunday, Turner Classic Movies): The final weekend of the 24-hour all-star movie marathons hits an immortal high, with Saturday devoted to Marilyn Monroe—my personal favorites, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Some Like It Hot, air at 10/9c and midnight/11c, respectively. Sunday is Cary Grant day, with the Hitchcock classic North by Northwest scheduled for 5:30 pm/4:30c.
• Help! I Wrecked My House (Saturday, 9/8c, HGTV): Jasmine Roth is back for a new season of rescuing DIY homeowners who’ve just about thrown in the trowel. First up: a guy whose dream of renovating his dad’s 1960s-style childhood home has hit the proverbial wall.
• 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? (Sunday, 8/7c, TLC and discovery+): The seventh season follows the fortunes of seven couples, including the timely situation of Jovi and Yara, whose homesickness for her native Ukraine escalates when war breaks out.
• Animal Kingdom (Sunday, 9/8c, TNT): In the crime saga’s series finale, the law-breaking Cody boys have one last dangerous job to do, never having learned over six seasons to quit when they were ahead.
• How It Really Happened with Jesse L. Martin (Sunday, 9/8c and 10/9c, HLN): The former Law & Order star takes over from Hill Harper as host and headliner of the true-crime series, opening with a two-part investigation into the 2007 disappearance of 3-year-old Madeleine McCann from a Portugal resort.
• Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes on a Scandal (Sunday, 9/8c, Investigation Discovery, streaming on discovery+): Tabloids and TV-movies of the time feasted on this story in the 1990s, when a 34-year-old married-with-kids elementary school teacher began a passionate affair with her 12-year-old student.
• Tuca & Bertie (Sunday, midnight/11c, Adult Swim): The animated buddy comedy about a toucan (Tiffany Haddish) and song thrush (Ali Wong) wraps its third season with a wedding in Birdtown. Be there!