The Walking Dead spawns an anthology of stand-alone vignettes set in the zombie apocalypse. An HBO documentary relives Princess Diana’s turbulent life in the public spotlight. Among series signing off in the late midsummer: HBO’s Westworld, PBS’ Grantchester, Starz’ P-Valley and more. South Park marks its 25th anniversary with a raucous concert from Colorado’s Red Rocks Park.
Curtis Bonds Baker/AMC
Tales of the Walking Dead
SUNDAY: Breathing new life into a fraying franchise, this eclectic anthology of small-scale vignettes is a welcome reminder that less can be more. The opening installment is the most conventional of the four (of six) episodes available for preview, but it’s a mostly satisfying road trip through Zombieland. America’s Got Talent’s Terry Crews and The Newsroom’s Olivia Munn star as mismatched travelers each seeking connection—he’s a doomsday prepper reluctantly emerging from isolation and she’s much more of a people person, though not without skills. While they’re often at each other’s throats, they’ll eventually learn—as most heroes do in the land of the Dead—that they’re each other’s best chance at survival. (See the full review.)
PBS
The Princess
SATURDAY: This month marks the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s tragic and untimely death, the occasion for a flurry of new documentaries about her well-documented life. Director Ed Perkins takes a “you are there” approach, using archival audio and video footage to immerse the viewer into the unrelenting public fishbowl that was Diana’s existence. We still can’t stop looking.
HBO
Westworld
SUNDAY: The world has become a war zone, with everyone playing William/Man in Black’s (Ed Harris) deadly game, as the fourth season of the visionary sci-fi/fantasy series reaches its endgame with one of the higher body counts—including robot bodies—in recent memory. Will Christina/formerly Dolores (Evan Rachel Hall) emerge from her existential haze to help set things right? Will we understand what’s going on if and when she does? And since we know the mechanical “hosts” can be resurrected, does that mean we’ll still see many of these terrific actors return—should the show get a fifth-season renewal—despite the bloody ends we keep witnessing? Time will tell.
Courtesy of MASTERPIECE and Kudos
Grantchester
SUNDAY: The long-running Masterpiece Mystery! series wraps its seventh season with Will (Tom Brittney) and Geordie (Robson Green) still on the hunt for a serial killer of homeless men, a case that puts the vicar’s heart—and life—in danger. Fans will “ahhh” at the ending. (An eighth season is already in production.) Also finishing for the season: Starz’ steamy and provocative P-Valley (Sunday, 10/9c), the Epix rom-com Bridge and Tunnel (Sunday, 10/9c) and HBO’s docuseries The Anarchists (Sunday, 10/9c), in which the Anarchapulco community’s would-be utopia crumbles as they realize the hollowness of their dreams.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Comedy Central
South Park: The 25th Anniversary Concert
SATURDAY: Fans gathered earlier this week at Colorado’s Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre to celebrate the quarter-century mark for the animation phenomenon that spawned a flurry of profane songs and humor. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are joined by Primus and Ween, and a few surprise musical guests, to rock out with memorable songs like “Uncle ******.”
Starz
Power Book III: Raising Kanan
SUNDAY: The unstoppable Power franchise keeps expanding, with Raising Kanan renewed for a third season before the second even begins this weekend. Tony winner Patina Miller (Madam Secretary), as queen-pin Raquel “Raq” Thomas, also has expansion on her mind, ruling her Queens drug empire and moving into Mafia territory. Her son Kanan (MeKai Curtis) is way less gung-ho, especially once he learns a secret about Raq and Detective Howard (Omar Epps).
Inside Weekend TV:
- Emergency! 50! The Show That Saved Your Life (Saturday, 7/6c, COZI): Emergency!, a hit for NBC from 1972 to 1977, created the template for shows like 9-1-1 (and CBS’ upcoming Fire Country). Original stars Randolph Mantooth (Johnny Gage) and Kevin Tighe (Roy DeSoto) reflect on the series, now marking its 50th anniversary, giving fans a look at the show’s original emergency equipment, stored in the Los Angeles County Fire Museum.
- Who Do You Think You Are? (Sunday, 7/6c, NBC): Star Trek star Zachary Quinto is the subject of the genealogy show’s season finale, traveling to Italy and the Midwest to learn more about his great-grandfather, a politician with a mind-blowing connection to a catchphrase associated with Quinto’s career.
- Chesapeake Shores (Sunday, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel): The sixth and final season of the romantic drama opens with Abby (Meghan Ory) choosing between her two love interests: nice-guy teacher Jay (Greyston Holt) or puckish billionaire Evan (Robert Buckley).
- Who Killed Biggie and Tupac? (Sunday, 9/8c, Investigation Discovery, streaming on discovery+): A documentary special provides new interviews and insights, and possibly answers, to the fatal shootings that galvanized the rap world 25 years ago.
