‘Bennet Sister’ Ends, ‘Woman of Substance’ Begins, Streaming ‘Avatar,’ ‘Brilliant Minds’

The Other Bennet Sister

I like to think that Jane Austen would be pleased that someone has finally given poor Mary Bennet, the most marginalized of the Pride and Prejudice sisters, her due at long last. As played marvelously by Ella Bruccoleri, this proudly bookish and independent young woman has forged her own path, unexpectedly finding herself the object of two men’s affections. Her heart lies with Tom Hayward (Dónal Finn), who is incommunicado following her collapse as the final episode begins. A friendly doctor advises Mary, “Happiness is in our own hands,” and the patient viewer should rest assured that Mary will find happiness—but on her own terms.

A Woman of Substance

Barbara Taylor Bradford‘s best-selling saga was first adapted for TV during the glory days of the TV miniseries, with film legend Deborah Kerr playing the “world’s richest woman,” Emma Harte, reflecting on her tumultuous rags-to-riches trajectory. (BritBox will present the 1984 original in late July.) A new series version, already renewed for a second season, stars Brenda Blethyn (Vera) as the elder Emma, with Jessica Reynolds as the ambitious younger Emma, whose experience as an ill-used maid in 1911 Yorkshire sets her on a lifelong crusade to accumulate wealth and power and take revenge on the posh family that did her wrong. The eight-episode season launches with two episodes, the rest following weekly.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Swim and soar through war-torn Pandora with the Na’vi in the third installment of James Cameron’s epic fantasy franchise, making its streaming debut. (Disney+ also offers the first two Avatar movies and the behind-the-scenes documentary Fire and Water: Making the Avatar Films.) New and familiar villains bring violent conflict to the family led by Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) against a sprawling and immersive canvas. The bigger the screen, the better.

Brilliant Minds

The next-to-last episode of the compelling medical drama is all about facing one’s fears. In Dr. Wolf’s (Zachary Quinto) case, that means exploring the roots of whatever led him to imagine his non-existent patient, Sofia (Sarah Steele). For his young patient, who lost the use of his legs after a spinal surgery gone wrong, that means conquering his nerves when a new tumor is discovered, requiring a risky operation in which he’d need to be awake during a craniotomy. (If you ever wanted to see Quinto decked out like a Gandolf-esque healer, enter the patient’s fantasy dreamscape.) Elsewhere, Wolf’s best friend Carol (Tamberla Perry) and intern Dana (Aury Krebs) join forces to take down Amelia Frederick (Scandal‘s Bellamy Young), the shady proprietor of Hudson Oaks, whom they suspect is keeping mental patients there against their will for profit.

The American Experiment

If Ken Burns‘ exhaustive The American Revolution docuseries left you somehow wanting more, a five-part series from director Brian Knappenberger and executive producers including Tom Hanks leans heavily on elaborate dramatic re-enactments of the battles, events, and founding fathers (and mothers) who forged our nation 250 years ago. The talking heads are unusually (for today’s polarized times) bipartisan, with reflections from former vice presidents Al Gore, Mike Pence, and Kamala Harris as well as Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Jamie Raskin, Jeff Flake, former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and an array of historians, authors, and academics.

INSIDE WEDNESDAY TV:

• FIFA World Cup: A busy day in the final week of the group round includes Switzerland vs. Canada in Vancouver (3 pm/ET, Fox), Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Qatar in Seattle (3 pm/ET, FS1), Brazil vs. Scotland in Miami (6 pm/ET, Fox), Morocco vs. Haiti in Atlanta (6 pm/ET, FS1), Mexico vs. Czechia in Mexico City (9 pm/ET, Fox), and South Korea vs. South Africa in Guadalupe, Mexico (9 pm/ET, FS1).
• NBA Draft (8 pm/ET, ESPN): More picks are announced in the second round from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
• Expedition Unknown (9/8c, Discovery Channel): Josh Gates opens his 17th season of exploration with a two-part odyssey to the Philippines coast, where he joins a mission to locate the Japanese WWII “hellship” Hofuku Maru, which sank while transporting more than 1,000 Allied prisoners, resting in a watery mass grave.
• Next Gen NYC (9/8c, Bravo): A cast of celebrity offspring and influencers in New York City returns for the reality series’ second season.

ON THE STREAM:

• Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed (streaming on Apple TV): Spackled in blood from her fateful (and fatal) encounter with a killer, Paula (Tatiana Maslany) returns to her pizza party and soccer mom/coach life in a frenzied episode of the suspenseful melodramedy. With police breathing down her neck, she continues her snooping, putting her and her co-workers in more potential danger.
• The Sheep Detectives (streaming on Prime Video): The charming mystery-comedy makes its streaming debut, featuring a flock of sheep (voiced by the likes of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, and Patrick Stewart) well-versed in detective fiction who rally to solve the murder of their shepherd (Hugh Jackman).
• In the Hand of Dante (streaming on Netflix): After a brief theatrical release, director/co-writer Julian Schnabel‘s film makes its streaming debut, starring Oscar Isaac as author Nick Tosches and (in 14th- century flashbacks) The Divine Comedy author Dante Alighieri in an unorthodox crime caper.
• Wild Cherry (streaming on Paramount+): House of the Dragon‘s Eve Best stars with The Penguin‘s Carmen Ejogo in a six-part BBC thriller as wealthy mothers of spoiled daughters whose scandalous behavior threatens to expose all of their dark secrets.