The Man Behind ‘The Sopranos,’ Michael Connelly Explores Hollywood’s Wonderland Massacre, U.S. Open Finals, ‘Universal Basic Guys’ on Fox

Wise Guy: David Chase And The Sopranos

Marking the 25th anniversary of a landmark series that helped put HBO on the map while also creating a new sort of anti-hero in suburban mob boss Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), director Alex Gibney’s fascinating two-part (in one night) documentary Wise Guy also takes a deep dive into the psyche of series creator David Chase. His upbringing in New Jersey, and his fraught relationship with his mother, inspired the groundbreaking drama, and Gibney delights in getting Chase to open up on a set recreating Dr. Melfi’s (Lorraine Bracco) psychiatrist’s office. With home movies, outtakes, audition reels and new and archival interviews with cast members and crew, the film is a wonderful celebration of a peerless series, with a remarkably candid Chase commenting on everything from casting and tone (“I really don’t know whether it was a drama or a comedy”) to the painful decision to kill off characters and, inevitably, the controversial cut-to-black ending that fans still debate today.

The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood

Best-selling novelist Michael Connelly (the Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer books) began his career as a journalist reporting on crime in Los Angeles, and in an engrossing four-part docuseries based on his hit podcast, he revisits a multiple murder that has fascinated him for decades. In July 1981, four people connected to the drug-dealing Wonderland Gang were found bloodily murdered (with videotaped crime-scene footage reinforcing the grisly details) in a Laurel Canyon home, with one survivor grievously injured. Connelly grills former detectives and DAs who followed the trail to a gallery of rogues including nightclub owner Eddie Nash, who was suspected of having ordered the killings, porn star John Holmes, and Liberace’s former boyfriend Scott Thorson, a potential key witness—if he can be believed.

US Open Tennis

It has been a while since the U.S. has been represented in the U.S. Open finals by both a male and female player. On Saturday, Jessica Pegula plays her first Grand Slam final, facing last year’s runner-up Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus, who lost to Coco Gauff in the 2023 final. This match is a reprise of August’s final at the Cincinnati Open, in which No. 2 ranked Sabalenka beat No. 6 Pegula. On Sunday, the men’s final pits No. 12 ranked U.S. men’s rising star Taylor Fritz in his first Grand Slam final, the first American male to hit this mark since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009 and Roddick at the U.S. Open final in 2006. It promises to be an uphill battle against No. 1 seeded Jannik Sinner from Italy, seeking his first U.S. Open championship.

Universal Basic Guys

Airing in all markets directly following an NFL doubleheader—there is no better lead-in—Fox’s latest animated comedy is a goofy buddy romp about two South Jersey bros, Mark and Hank Hoagies (voiced by Adam Malamut, co-creator with brother Craig), who lost their jobs to automation but coast through life on a $3,000-a-month basic income program. In the opener, Mark impulsively buys a damaged chimpanzee for his wife Tammy’s (Talia Genevieve) birthday and pays the consequences when the freaked beast tears his face off. (Weird for this to arrive on the same night that HBO’s cautionary Chimp Crazy docuseries signs off.) The exotic-pet storyline also envelops neighbor David (Fred Armisen), who has an ominous encounter with a giant $75,000 snake.

Industry

Who’s going to take the fall for green energy company Lumi’s failed IPO and the subsequent £2 billion government bailout? In another intense episode of the financial drama, Pierpoint whipping boy Robert (Harry Lawtey) fears he’ll be the fall guy when his bosses force the young “company man” to testify before a brutal government select committee. (Flashbacks to Tom in Succession are understandable.) As Robert comes to grips with just how expendable he’s seen by his higher-ups, he’s in for an even bigger shock when the hearing takes a bizarre turn. Back at the office, a corporate shake-up and other dire rumors leave Eric (Ken Leung) shaken about the company’s future. Followed by the finale of Chimp Crazy (Sunday, 10/9c), which reveals the fate of the adult chimp Tonka while the documentary crew and its relationship with Tonia Haddix becomes part of the story.

Snowpiercer

The Big Alice engine returns to New Eden, with joy and sadness as the citizens take stock of who made it home and who didn’t. The reunion is short-lived, with the town girding for battle against the remnants of Admiral Milius’ troops, now being led from Snowpiercer by the person who froze the world.

INSIDE WEEKEND TV:

• Loving Little House: The 50th Anniversary Celebration (Saturday, 7/6c, COZI TV): An hourlong salute to the beloved pioneer family drama features interviews with Melissa Gilbert, Melissa Sue Anderson and other stars of the series, plus footage from an April cast reunion and festival at the Simi Valley, California location where the series was filmed.
• His & Hers (Saturday, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel): Kicking off the “Fall into Love” movie series, Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott team for their 10th movie as married lawyers representing opposite sides of a messy divorce between two reality-TV stars.
• Held Hostage in My House (Saturday, 8/7c, Lifetime): Amy Smart stars in a psychological thriller as a single mom who awakens in her country vacation rental, hogtied and held captive—but by whom?
• The Engagement Plan (Saturday, 8/7c, Great American Family): The romcom, previously streamed on Great American Pure Flix, makes its linear debut.
• I Am Johnny Cash (Saturday, 8/7c, The CW): The latest biography in the I Am series uses the songbook of country music’s Man in Black to trace his life story.
• Victim to Verdict with Ted Rowlands (Sunday, 8 pm/ET, Court TV): The Court TV anchor returns for a second season of high-profile courtroom chronicles, opening with the sensational civil trial of Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard.
• Sunday Night Football (Sunday, 8:15/7:15c, NBC): The top-rated sports franchise returns with the Los Angeles Rams at Detroit Lions.
• National Parks: USA (Sunday, 8/7c, National Geographic): A five-part series travels to several of the nation’s most treasured protected lands, showcasing the natural beauty and wildlife while exploring the parks’ connection to indigenous peoples. First stops: Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Florida’s Everglades. Followed by the premiere of Animal Genius (Sunday, 10/9c), with wildlife biologist Liz Bonnin revealing the cunning ways animals survive.
• SEAL Team (Sunday, streaming on Paramount+): Series star David Boreanaz stays behind the camera as director of an episode where Bravo Team embarks on a mission to Cambodia minus their leaders, with Jason (Boreanaz) at home with his son and Ray (Neil Brown Jr.) tied up with diplomatic negotiations.