Between streaming and cable, viewers have a seemingly endless variety of things to watch. Here is a selection of TV shows and specials that are airing or streaming this week, Aug. 10-16. Details and times are subject to change.
The heartfelt story of an Australian farm girl and tales of superheroes.
Poised and headstrong women who would rather have a career than wed are a cornerstone of many novels by women — “Little Women,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “The Edible Woman.” “My Brilliant Career,” a semi-autobiographical book written by Miles Franklin and published in 1901, is getting a new television adaptation. This six-part iteration follows Sybylla (Philippa Northeast), a 17-year-old Australian farm girl who dreams of writing instead of conforming to societal expectations of marriage. The story is widely considered a milestone in feminist literature. Begins streaming Thursday on Netflix.
A new addition to the DC universe, “Lanterns” follows two intergalactic cops, a recruit named John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and a veteran named Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), as they stay in the earthly realm to investigate a murder in America’s heartland. The show is connected to other DC stories about Green Lanterns, including one who appeared in “Superman” and the second season of “Peacemaker.” Sunday at 8 p.m. on HBO.
Football and true crime documentaries.
Over the course of his career as a soccer player, a team manager and the head coach of Real Madrid, José Mourinho has been dubbed “The Special One.” The three-part documentary series “Mourinho” chronicles his rise to popularity, his reputation for being outspoken and his ability to coach teams including Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid to championship wins. Begins streaming Tuesday on Netflix.
Previously, Netflix has tried to look inside the minds of convicted murderers including John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer and David Berkowitz through prison phone recordings on their documentary series “Conversations with a Killer.” The newest iteration, “The Charles Manson Tapes,” uses prison calls by Manson, interviews with former members of his cult and archival news footage to track his ascent and ultimately the nine murders that he orchestrated. Begins streaming Wednesday on Netflix.
A sequel to a beloved movie.
For many a millennial, the song “This Is Me” from the 2008 Disney Channel original movie “Camp Rock,” was a soundtrack to some personal emotional moment. The movie follows the camper Mitchie (Demi Lovato), who has the opportunity to go to an elite musical summer camp because her mom is the cook. The Jonas brothers play fictional versions of themselves; naturally, Mitchie falls in love with one of them. A sequel came out in 2010. Now comes another, “Camp Rock 3,” in which the fictionalized Jonas band returns to search for a new talent to open for them on their next tour. Though Lovato isn’t set to appear in the movie, she did produce it alongside the three Jonases. Thursday at 8 p.m. on Disney Channel and available to stream the next day on Disney+.
Some end-of-summer classics.
We’re into August; the temperature is humid and hot. So with “salt air and rust on your door,” in the words of Taylor Swift, now could be a good time to revisit some classic summer moments in television.
Though “Gossip Girl” is a thoroughly New York City show, the setting changes in the first episode of Season 2, “Summer, Kind of Wonderful,” when some of the Upper East Side’s most misbehaved teens head to the Hamptons. There’s a glamorous white party (glaringly sponsored by Vitamin Water), secret hookups and Blair’s request to Chuck: “Three words, eight letters. Say it and I’m yours.” Available to stream on Netflix.
Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha also take a trip to the Hamptons in Season 2 of “Sex and the City.” In “Twenty-Something Girls vs. Thirty-Something Women,” Carrie runs into Mr. Big with a younger woman, Charlotte tries to have a fling but ends up with crabs and Miranda just wants to relax, dammit! Available to stream on HBO Max.
And the gang from “Friends” heads to a rustic beach house to enjoy the sun and find Phoebe’s biological mother in the Season 4 episode “The One With the Jellyfish.” Someone shaves her own head, someone urinates on Monica’s leg and someone falls asleep while reading a crucially important letter. Available to stream on HBO Max.
