New Mysteries on ‘Only Murders,’ History of Black TV, ‘Alien’ Intrigue, Horror Meets Reality TV

Only Murders in the Building

The Emmy-nominated comedy-mystery returns for a fifth season, with the murder-prone Arconia apartment building once again the scene for mischievous and mirthful mayhem, courtesy of the podcasting trio of Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez). They’re not buying the “accidental death” ruling regarding the suspicious passing of their beloved doorman Lester (Teddy Coluca), found floating in a bloody fountain as last season ended. Their snooping includes physical comedy at Lester’s funeral. (“How can I count his fingers if he’s not doing the dead-man’s arm cross?” Charles wonders in a line that could only be heard on this show.) The investigation leads to connections between the Arconia and a missing mobster (Bobby Cannavale), his glamorous wife (Téa Leoni) and three shady billionaires (Oscar winners Renée Zellweger and Christoph Waltz, and Logan Lerman). Other guest stars include Keegan-Michael Key as New York’s blustery mayor and Dianne Weist, another Oscar winner, as Lester’s widow. The season launches with three episodes.

Seen and Heard: The History of Black Television

“It’s hard to feel seen,” reflects no less an eminence than Oprah Winfrey, who remembers growing up “with no images of myself being reflected back to me.” A two-part documentary, concluding Wednesday, from executive producer Issa Rae (Insecure) and director Giselle Bailey provides a sweeping cultural history of Black images and characters on TV from early stereotyping (Beulah, Amos ‘n’ Andy) to breakthroughs of the 1960s including Julia with Diahann Carroll and Nichelle Nichols‘ portrayal of Star Trek‘s Uhura (a favorite of Martin Luther King Jr.) through Norman Lear‘s topical comedies (Good Times, The Jeffersons, Sanford & Son) to a more modern era when shows were actually run by people of color (In Living Color, Girlfriends, black-ish). “My hope is that there will be more shows that show us as ourselves in our deep complexity,” Winfrey concludes.

Alien: Earth

The battle over the aliens that have crash-landed on Earth intensifies in a pivotal episode of the thrilling sci-fi/horror spinoff. While Prodigy’s “boy genius” Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) spars with Weyland-Yutani CEO Yutani (Sandra Yi Sencindiver) over control and ownership of the deadly specimens, few seem to appreciate what it means that human/robot hybrid Wendy (Sydney Chandler) is bonding and empathizing with one of the Xenomorphs. Elsewhere, Maginot security chief and Weyland-Yutani loyalist Morrow (Babou Ceesay) continues manipulating “Lost Boy” Slightly (Adarsh Gourav) in his plot to gain access to one of the aliens. The suspense is considerable.

Guts & Glory

Leave it to The Walking Dead‘s award-winning special-effects guru and executive producer Greg Nicotero to concoct a horror-filled reality competition that makes Survivor look like child’s play (no, not the Chucky movie). The six-episode survival contest puts the players in an immersive scenario that unfolds like a real-life horror movie with zombies and other terrors lurking to force everyone involved to face their fears. Launches with two episodes.

Playing Nice

The finale of the domestic drama, depicting the battle between two couples whose sons were switched at birth, cranks up the melodrama when Pete and Maddie (James Norton, Niahm Algar) are vilified in court, with the monstrous Miles (James McArdle) determined to gain custody of both boys. A surprise appearance at the courthouse could change the dynamic as the emotional tug of war goes to outrageous extremes.

INSIDE TUESDAY TV:

• America’s Got Talent (8/7c, NBC): Among those scheduled to perform in the last of the quarterfinals, determining who’ll be represented in the semifinals starting next week: Birmingham Youth Fellowship Choir, which earned a Golden Buzzer from Simon Cowell, and two of Terry Crews‘ Golden Buzzer picks: The BoykinZ and The Funkateer Dancers.
• Becoming Thurgood: America’s Social Architect (9/8c, PBS): A documentary profiles Thurgood Marshall, the pioneering civil-rights lawyer who successfully argued 29 of 32 cases before the Supreme Court before being appointed in 1967 to be the first African American justice on the highest court.
• The Tech Bro Murders (10/9c, Investigation Discovery): Retired Palo Alto detective Sandra Brown leads a six-part true-crime series exploring deadly doings among Silicon Valley’s elite. First up: the case of a Google X exec found dead on his yacht.
• Songs & Stories With Kelly Clarkson (10/9c, NBC): Lizzo opens up about her life and career and performs with Kelly in the season finale.
• Thirst Trap: The Fame. The Fantasy. The Fallout (streaming on Paramount+): The dark side of social-media fame is the subject of a documentary about William White, a sensation at 21 when he posted sensual videos lip-syncing to retro hits like “Mandy.” His following, which included many middle-aged women, grew out of control, with stalking, bullying and doxxing among his obsessive fan club while White raked in a fortune.