6 things you have to watch on TV this weekend
That long-awaited Paper Girls adaptation, a thriller starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and more

Welcome to the weekend edition of What’s On. Here are the big things happening on TV from Friday, July 29 to Sunday, July 31. All times are Eastern. [Note: The weekly What’s On will publish on Sundays.]
1. Prime Video brings Paper Girls to the small screen
Friday, Prime Video, 12:01 a.m.: Based on Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang’s comic books of the same name, the long-awaited Paper Girls adaptation is finally here. The show centers on four young girls who are out delivering newspapers on the morning after Halloween in 1988. They unwittingly get caught in a conflict between warring factions of time-travelers (as one does), and eventually encounter future versions of themselves. The cast includes Ali Wong, Nate Corddry, Riley Nai Nelet, Camryn Jones, Sofia Rosinsky, and Fina Strazza. Keep an eye out for The A.V. Club’s review on the site today.
2. Gugu Mbatha-Raw leads Surface
Friday, Apple TV+, 12:01 a.m.: Veronica West’s neo-noir thriller Surface follows Sophie Ellis (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who suffers from amnesia after a suicide attempt. She must now piece together fragments of her chaotic life while dealing with an untrustworthy husband and a secret boyfriend. Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Stephan James, and Ari Graynor also star. Here’s an excerpt from The A.V. Club’s review:
It’s a riveting performance by Mbatha-Raw, just not a riveting show, the rare middling new drama from a streamer we’ve come to rely on.