A lull in summer TV is making us feel very Alone

By Caroline Siede  |  July 7, 2016 | 5:00am
TV Features TV

Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Thursday, July 7. All times are Eastern.

Top picks

Alone (History Channel, 9 p.m.): In his pre-air review of this survivalist show’s second season, Noel Murray wrote, “There’s a rare poetry to this show, which combines deep stream-of-consciousness monologues with rough naturalism. It’s like the reality competition equivalent of a Terrence Malick film—or like the haunting last-known footage of some restless souls.” And since we’ve reached a lull in summer TV (at least on Thursdays), this is the perfect time to check in on how Alone’s isolated survivalists are doing. In “Winter’s Fury,” the arrival of winter forces the participants to take risks while dealing with dwindling food sources. We recommend pairing this episode with air conditioning and some summer barbecue.

Aquarius (NBC, 10 p.m.): Or use this summer lull to check in on how David Duchovny is faring as a 1960s detective. In “Revolution 9,” Duchovny’s Detective Hodiak helps an old war buddy deal with a blackmailer. Plus addiction, politics, and Bobby Kennedy play a role elsewhere in the episode because this show really wants to remind you that it’s set in the late ’60s.

Queen Of The South (USA, 10 p.m.): USA’s new hour-long drug “queenpin” drama reaches its third episode tonight. Camila sends Teresa on a “big job” and makes a “major move” in her attempt to take over Epifanio’s cartel. In her pre-air review of the first episode, Danette Chavez noted that the series “trades heavily in tropes,” although she found some promise in its cross-cultural exploration of the U.S. and Mexico.

Premieres and finales

Brahman Naman (Netflix, 3 a.m.): Technically this is a movie rather than a TV show, but since not much else is premiering today, we’re recommending it anyway. Brahman Naman is a 1980s-set coming-of-age story that follows four nerdy Indian teens who head to Calcutta to compete in a collegiate quiz competition and try to lose their virginities. Avant-garde director Q adopts a slightly more mainstream style for this raunchy sex comedy.

A Day In The Life (Ovation, 7 p.m.): Ovation’s docuseries returns for a second season full of even more “day in the life” celebrity profiles. Marc Maron is the subject of the first episode at 7 p.m., while UFC fighter Jason “Mayhem” Miller gets the focus at 7:30 p.m. Misty Copeland was the only woman profiled in the show’s six-episode first season, so hopefully the show will course correct that oversight this season. After, of course, profiling Mario Batali next episode.

Royal Exploitation Marathon (Reelz, 9 p.m.): Reelz takes a gossipy look at the British royal family across three specials. First up, there’s Royal Secrets: The Diana File at 9 p.m., followed by Royal Secrets: The Royal Mistress at 9:30 p.m. Then Reelz rounds things off with a two-hour special called Diana: Last Days Of A Princess. Considering the recent Brexit decision, it seems a little mean to kick the British while they’re down. But, hey, what else is America good for?

Streaming pick

The X-Files, “Ice” (Netflix): Before David Duchovny played a man investigating Charles Manson, he played a man investigating the paranormal. In this excellent first-season episode of The X-Files, Mulder and Scully wind up trapped in an Alaskan research station with an extraterrestrial parasitic organism on the loose. As always, it’s up to Spooky Mulder and Less Spooky Scully to save the day.

 
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