‘Alien’ Lands on Earth, Remembering Hulk Hogan, Little League World Series, Kitchen Grudge Matches

Alien: Earth

In space, no one can hear you scream. The same isn’t true for the living room, and with Fargo‘s brilliant Noah Hawley adapting the Alien franchise for the home screen, I expect there will be howls of delighted fright echoing across America when this spectacular and terrifying series opens with a two-part premiere. The fun begins when a spaceship bearing a dangerous cargo crash-lands on an Earth ruled by corporations, who go to war over the ship’s freaky contents. An upstart trillionaire visionary who goes by the name of Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin), in whose territory the ship lands, claims the specimens as his own, and enlists his latest invention—AI hybrids, whose humanoid robot bodies house human consciousness—to aid with the recovery, heedless of the Pandora’s box he just opened. The mesmerizing Sydney Chandler stars as the prototype hybrid, Wendy, with a platinum-haired Timothy Olyphant as her synthetic handler, reminding her (and us), “In the animal kingdom, there is always something bigger or smaller who would eat you alive if they had the chance.” That’s Alien in a grim nutshell. (See the full review.)

Big Dreams: Little League World Series 2024

In advance of this year’s tournament, which begins Wednesday in historic Williamsport, Pennsylvania, an affectionate special celebrates the nearly 80-year history of the Little League World Series through the prism of last year’s contest. Among the international teams showcased: 2024 finalists Lake Mary from Florida and Kuie-Shan Little League from Chinese Taipei, plus Mexico’s Matamoros and Hinsdale, Illinois.

Chef Grudge Match

Food fights take on new meaning in a competition series hosted by boxing champ Laila Ali that stages showdowns between culinary rivals or chefs with a score to settle. Resident judge Jet Tila helps decide the winner of each match, who takes home a $10,000 cash prize, the loser’s favorite knife and all-important bragging rights. The opening battle pits Food Network star Gabe Bertaccini against his protégé, Tyler Romine, who quit Gabe’s catering business 15 years ago with only three days’ notice. The second match finds Vail Colorado’s Taylor Frankel settling a grievance with former sous chef Maria Busato, who left to open her own catering business in the same town.

America’s Got Talent

In case you missed the news, the popular summer talent show has been celebrating its 20^th anniversary all season. Taking a pause before the live quarterfinals begin next week, America’s Got Talent throws its own birthday party, with vintage clips, a new mega-mix performance and interviews with the judges, who reflect on the show’s impact and legacy.

TMZ Presents: The Real Hulk Hogan (8/7c, Fox): The world knew him as Hulk Hogan, the flamboyant pro-wrestling superstar and reality-TV personality who epitomized the game in the 1980s and ’90s and passed away of a heart attack on July 24 at 71. Those who knew him best, as Terry Bollea, weigh in on his life and career, including Sylvester Stallone, Mick Foley, Mark Henry and the WWE’s Vince McMahon.

INSIDE TUESDAY TV:

• Truck Dynasty (9/8c, Discovery): A reality series goes inside Apocalypse Manufacturing, the Florida custom-truck business of Joe Ghattas and wife/co-owner Ashley as they design and sell outrageous vehicles, including an Apocalypse Hellfire with pull-out mobile kitchen for Food Network’s Guy Fieri and a custom Overland truck for Internet star Nick “The Wrangler” Bishop.
• Jim Jefferies: Two Limb Policy (streaming on Netflix): The Australian comedian mansplains it all for you in his latest stand-up special.
• Final Draft (streaming on Netflix): A grueling Japanese reality/survival competition features 25 former athletes hoping for one last shot at glory as they battle it out in extreme challenges testing their physical and psychological limits, with a game-changing 30-million-yen grand prize at stake.