What's on TV this week—Lanterns burns bright on HBO

Welcome to What’s On, our weekly roundup of notable shows. Here is what’s happening on TV from Sunday, August 16 to Saturday, August 22. All times are Eastern.

Lanterns (HBO and HBO Max, Sunday, 9 p.m., series premiere) The Green Lantern saga gets the True Detective treatment in this eight-episode DC Comics drama, pairing Kyle Chandler as grizzled veteran Lantern Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as next-gen recruit John Stewart as they investigate a murder in the American heartland that leads them to far darker mysteries. When the two aren’t busy butting heads, they have to contend with a small-town sheriff (Kelly Macdonald) who’s pretty territorial over her jurisdiction, especially when “superheroes” are involved. The A.V. Club’s pre-air is live; look out for the premiere recap to come soaring in on Sunday. 

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FXX and Hulu, Monday, 9 p.m., season 18 premiere) Break out the Wolf Cola because after a trio of eight-episode seasons, the long-running anti-sitcom returns to a full 10-ep order, which means even more chaos and morally questionable schemes  for Charlie (Charlie Day), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Mac (Rob McElhenney), Dee (Kaitlin Olson), and Frank (Danny DeVito). Yes, that includes the Renaissance Faire, the return of the McPoyle family, RV breakdowns en route to a Jamiroquai concert, and more. 

Outer Banks (Netflix, Thursday, season five premiere) It’s the fifth and final installment of the treasure-hunting teen drama, which is fresh off its most devastating death yet in that feature-length season 4 finale. (But no spoilers here!) As John B. (Chase Stokes), Sarah (Madelyn Cline), and the rest of the Pogues weather their grief, they’ll have to face down the Kooks, chase a stolen crown, and set off on one last adventure—this time, for revenge.