What’s Worth Watching: ‘Superstore’, ‘The Voice’, ‘Fearless’, ‘The Night Of’ and more for Friday, August 19 thru Sunday, August 21
Superstore (Friday, approximately 10:30/9:30c, NBC): The network has a lot riding on this charming sleeper in the fall, asking it to kick off a new hour of comedy on Thursdays, a night NBC long ago conceded to the big draw of The Big Bang Theory. With the Olympics in its final weekend, NBC is using the Games as a promotional platform while it still can. Once Friday night’s action from Rio concludes, the staff of Cloud 9 gets in the Olympic spirit with real-life gold medalists Apolo Anton Ohno, Tara Lipinski and McKayla Maroney appearing in cameos. Saturday Night Live’s Cecily Strong plays a famed gymnast who’s Amy’s (America Ferrera) childhood hero. Will she still be after they meet? Then on Sunday, after the torch is snuffed during the Closing Ceremonies, NBC turns its eyes to the future, with a half-hour sneak preview (approximately 10:30/9:30c) of the new season of The Voice, with two new female judges turning their chairs—or not—in the blind auditions: Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys.
Fearless (Available Friday on Netflix): The U.S.-Brazil connection continues in this six-part documentary series following the ups and bruising downs of professional bull riders, on the U.S. circuit en route to the annual Barretos festival in Sao Paulo and World Finals in Las Vegas.
The Night Of (Sunday, 9/8c, HBO): The defense in the case of The State v. Nasir Khan (Riz Ahmed) does anything but rest in the penultimate episode of the summer’s most gripping drama series. With anti-Muslim sentiment on the rise outside the courtroom, Stone (John Turturro) continues pursuing leads while Chandra (Amara Karan) steps up in the courtroom, though not without a few new obstacles.
J.L. Family Ranch (Sunday, 9/8c, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries): While not exactly the second (or third) coming of Dallas, this sudsy drama is a bit meatier than the Hallmark norm, pitting Texas rancher/lovable grandpa Jon Voight (a world removed from Mickey Donovan) against federal bureaucracy, corrupt politicians and longtime family rival James Caan, all of whom want to seize the parcel of his land with access to water. Among the familiar faces in the cast: Melanie Griffith, Teri Polo, Steven Bauer and Grant Bowler. Among the familiar symbols: a literally white hat (Voight)-black hat (Caan) showdown.
Inside Weekend TV: Now a tourist attraction in California, the original Queen Mary ocean liner is an icon from the golden age of luxury transatlantic ocean travel. As the Smithsonian Channel’s special Mighty Ship at War: The Queen Mary reminds us (Sunday, 8/7c), it also served as an unsinkable symbol of resistance during World War II, carrying troops through enemy waters and escorting Prime Minister Winston Churchill across the Atlantic. … Inspector Lewis takes his final case on PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery! (Sunday, 9/8c, check local listings at pbs.org), involving the murder of a mathematician by bomb.