HBO opens The White Lotus

Plus: The CW gets in on that sweet, sweet What We Do In The Shadows spinoff action, Run The World signs off for the season, and CNN digs into sitcom history

By Allison Shoemaker  |  July 11, 2021 | 5:00am
TV Lists HBO
HBO opens The White Lotus
Jennifer Coolidge and Murray Bartlett in The White Lotus Photo: Courtesy of HBO

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Sunday, July 11. All times are Eastern.

Top picks

The White Lotus (HBO, 9 p.m., limited series premiere): Here’s Saloni Gajjar on this buzzy new series from the creator of Enlightened: “Created by Mike White, The White Lotus is set in an exclusive Hawaiian resort… The stacked cast includes Connie Britton, Steve Zahn, and Insecure’s Natasha Rothwell, who plays the resort spa’s massage therapist and forms a possibly unhealthy bond with one of her clients, played by the one and only Jennifer Coolidge. With each passing day, a darker complexity emerges in the lives of these seemingly picture-perfect travelers and cheerful employees.”

Read more about The White Lotus and other new shows coming to your TV this month in our July TV preview. Roxana Hadadi’s recaps will run weekly.

Wellington Paranormal (The CW, 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., U.S. premiere): Grab yourself some normal human alcohols and settle in to once again slip into the absurd world of camera-ready vampires and whatnot.

The CW, rightly eager to get into the Jemaine Clement/Taika Waititi business, snapped up this spinoff of their 2014 film What We Do In The Shadows, which as you might have heard already spawned another corker. Look for Danette Chavez’s review soon on the site.

Regular coverage

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow (The CW, 8 p.m.)
Kevin Can F**k Himself (AMC, 9 p.m.): A reminder that our coverage is following the AMC release schedule, rather than that of AMC+, so tonight’s recap will be for episode five, “New Patty.”
Rick And Morty (Adult Swim, 11 p.m.)

Wild cards

Run The World (Starz, 8:30 p.m., first-season finale): “A great deal of Run The World’s premise centers on the towering burdens placed upon Black women by society, within the Black community, and of course, the expectations they place upon themselves. Though the characters are imperfect, they continue to push back against society’s desire to humble Black women or make them feel grateful for positions and roles they’ve painstakingly earned… Run The World offers a lovely window into the lives of four Black women. It’s honest, witty, and at times heartbreaking. As in real life, the women at the center of the series know that they can hold on to one another when all else fails.” Read the rest of Aramide Tinubu’s pre-air review.

Shark Week (discovery+ and Discovery, running throughout the week): Shark Week is starting, and NatGeo’s Sharkfest hasn’t stopped swimming either, so this is a fine time to be a person who likes watching shark stuff on TV. Today’s highlights include Song Of The Shark (discovery+, 3:01 a.m.), the series premiere of Shark Academy (discovery+, 3:01 a.m.), and Tiffany Haddish Does Shark Week (Discovery, 9 p.m.).

History Of The Sitcom (CNN, 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., series premiere): This eight-part docuseries “reunites audiences with the television friends, families, and co-workers they grew up with while introducing cutting-edge comedies that are sure to be your next binge-watch.” Expect interviews with Norman Lear, Tina Fey, Lisa Kudrow, Kim Fields, Dick Van Dyke, Jason Alexander, Mel Brooks, and Ted Danson, among (many) others.

Professor T (PBS, 10 p.m., series premiere): Sound the cozy mystery klaxon, a British eccentric is solving crimes on the telly!

 
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