Charlie Sheen Speaks Out, Saluting ‘Downton Abbey,’ Olivia Cooke Is ‘The Girlfriend,’ Big Cats on PBS

aka Charlie Sheen

One of Hollywood’s most notorious figures is now seven years sober, and as the centerpiece of a publicity blitz surrounding his new memoir (The Book of Sheen, out this week), Charlie Sheen at 60 consents to an exhaustive interview for a two-part documentary from director Andrew Renzi. He reflects on his meteoric rise, his personal lows (drug and alcohol abuse, a careless predilection for sex workers, getting fired from Two and a Half Men) and how he somehow survived it all. Among the colorful personalities also weighing in: ex-wives Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller, Men costar Jon Cryer, former Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss and even his former drug dealer. Expect eyes to open and jaws to drop.

Downton Abbey Celebrates the Grand Finale

They left TV and Masterpiece nearly a decade ago, but the Crawleys of Downton Abbey and their devoted staff of servants have never entirely gone away. With a third and final film in the beloved period franchise opening this weekend, the stars gather at London’s posh Savoy Hotel to reminisce about Downton Abbey‘s past and present, sharing the fondest of memories. You know this is why you’ve been saving that bottle of bubbly.

The Girlfriend

What could be more welcome at midweek than a streaming guilty pleasure? This sleek, sexy melodrama depicts a battle of wills between two femmes fatales: Laura, an icily controlling and fabulously wealthy mother (House of Cards‘ stunning Robin Wright) and the working-class looker named, of all things, Cherry (House of the Dragon‘s scintillating Olivia Cooke), who has captured the fancy of Laura’s adored doctor son Daniel (Laurie Davidson). “This one is … different,” Daniel tells his extremely clingy mom before she meets Cherry, sparking an almost immediate mutual distrust. The story unfolds from both Laura’s and Cherry’s alternating perspectives, showing events from different angles that leave you wondering what really happened. One thing’s for certain: It’s not going to end well. All six episodes are available for a juicy binge-watch.

Big Cats 24/7

Using thermal cameras and drone technology, nature filmmakers take an around-the-clock immersive approach to capturing life among the big cats of Botswana — lions, leopards and cheetahs, oh my — in the second season of the enthralling docuseries. The first two episodes of the four-part series focus on the females of the species, tending to their lion, leopard and cheetah cubs and protecting them from intruders and other predators.

Platonic

Three is becoming a crowd when Will’s (Seth Rogen) friskiness in the guest house becomes a concern for his best bud Sylvia (Rose Byrne) and too-accommodating husband Charlie (Luke Macfarlane), whose time in therapy has made him more assertive about demanding change. While Will goes home-hunting, he also makes time to help Sylvia with the holiday retirement party she’s planning for Charlie’s law firm, no one expecting the bombshell that’s about to drop. Guest stars include The Office‘s Paul Lieberstein as Charlie’s therapist, whose very name is a joke, and Saturday Night Live alum Aidy Bryant as Sylvia’s potential new client.

INSIDE WEDNESDAY TV:

• Match Game (8/7c, ABC): The game show’s season finale gathers a panel including Adam Pally, Randall Park, Kal Penn, Ana Gasteyer and, from the current season of host Martin Short‘s Only Murders in the Building, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Beanie Feldstein.
• Family Law (8/7c, The CW): AI is on the docket when Abby (Jewel Staite) represents a mother in mourning who wants to delete an AI replica of her late daughter that her ex made, while Daniel (Zach Smadu) tries to convince the court that his client is in a real relationship with an AI doll.
• The Harlem Globetrotters: Secrets of the City (8/7c, AspireTV): A travel series follows the famed basketball team on a world tour with stops including Cairo, London, Stuttgart and Sydney.
• Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television (9/8c, HBO): The conclusion of the cultural documentary focuses on Black creators and content owners opening doors for others, including Shonda Rhimes, Oprah Winfrey, Issa Rae (an executive producer of the series) and Lena Waithe.
• Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service (9/8c, Fox): Following a recap episode of MasterChef: Dynamic Duos (8/7c) in advance of next week’s season finale, Gordon Ramsay closes out the first season of Secret Service by infiltrating an historic Rhode Island burger joint that has seen better days.
• Sacred Planet with Gulnaz Khan (10/9c, PBS): Environmental journalist Gulnaz Khan travels to sacred sites around the world to reflect on our ever-changing planet. First stop: the mountain range of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia, where the Indigenous Arhuasco people maintain a spiritual connection to their ancestral lands.
• The Hospital (11/10c, BET): Comedian Kevin Fredericks leads an improv troupe in a sketch comedy (airing back-to-back episodes) set at a dysfunctional hospital that makes Denis Medical look normal.

ON THE STREAM:

• The Hardacres (streaming on BritBox): A rags-to-riches period family drama from the U.K. follows the fortunes of a working-class Yorkshire clan from the fish docks who unexpectedly come into money and take over a country estate to the chagrin of their new neighbors.
• Eli’s Places (streaming on ESPN+): Eli Manning travels to Stanford to discuss the impact of Name, Image and Likeness rulings with former Colts QB Andrew Luck, who’s now General Manager of his alma mater Cardinal team. While there, Manning helps walk-on long snapper Alejandro Chavez negotiate his first endorsement deal.
• Helluva Boss (streaming on Prime Video): Plucked from YouTube, the irreverent adult animated comedy about an assassination bureau from Hell presents its first two seasons, fully uncensored for the first time, along with an original episode.