Weekend Preview: ‘Euphoria’ And ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ Lead Us Into Temptation (And Great TV)

Euphoria (Sunday, HBO 9:00pm) — Following a few gut-punch special episodes featuring sad pancakes, the Zendaya-starring, mascara-streaked phenomenon returns with a second full-on season. Naturally, Rue’s not on the straight-and-narrow, and in fact, she’s relapsed and may have descended into the drug trade, so expect violence atop the customary drama. Drake’s an executive producer, and the cast is absolutely incredible while giving us more of a lesson than we ever wanted on the subjects of trauma and social media and that elusive love that so many people are seeking.

The Righteous Gemstones (Sunday, HBO 10:00pm) — Walton Goggins’ Baby Billy is back to be a thorn in the side of John Goodman’s patriarch and the rest of the fam, including Danny McBride and Edi Patterson‘s sibling characters. Hopefully, everybody will be running around the house with pickles in their mouths, and all prayers have been answered for this dysfunctional family to return after the Succession gang dropped that betrayal-filled season finale. Settle in because it’s gospel time, so crank up the glitz and the grifting for another round.

Here’s some regularly scheduled programming:

Dexter: New Blood (Sunday, Showtime 9:00pm) — The new season is a bloody good time, and this week, Dexter’s teaching Harrison all about the Dark Passenger while Debra looks on with grave concern. It’s season finale time, all while Dexter and Harrison aim for coexisting with society, but it ain’t working out.

Yellowjackets (Sunday, Showtime 10:00) — It’s Doomcoming time, and it’s not a happy affair. The Yellowjackets are careening toward death and throwing some sort of rager before “the end,” all while Shauna becomes increasingly unhappy and unsettled.

Here are some more streaming picks:

The Tender Bar (Amazon Prime movie) — This team up between director George Clooney and Ben Affleck, who portrays an uncle who owns that bar in the title, is a coming-of-age tale but also a rich character study. Tye Sheridan portrays the nephew who’s also an inspiring writer who’s hoping to conquer both his personal and professional lives. Affleck’s portraying not only a bartender but a terribly charismatic dude who helps young J.R. learn about life and also fulfill those all-important dreams.

Discovery of Witches: Season 3 (Sundance Now series, also on Shudder and AMC) — The final season of this fan-favorite show digs into more of the story of a history who also happens to be a witch (who’s in denial about a lot of things). An ancient manuscript ends up unleashing magic and mystery, all while there are looming creatures and an unlikely alliance and a tenuous connection between the species in question.

1883: Season 1 (Paramount+ series) — This Yellowstone prequel follows up on Taylor Sheridan’s runaway sensation series. This series, however, stars Sam Elliot, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Billy Bob Thornton. The story goes back to the travels of the O.G. Dutton family moving through the wild west on the way to Montana. Basically, this is all about the search for America’s promised land, which will likely yield bittersweet discovery with welcome callbacks to the beloved series that brought those fans here in the first place.

And Just Like That… (Sunday, HBO 8:30pm) — Carrie is still reeling from Big’s death and the mess (including that Peloton) that he left behind. Meanwhile, Charlotte is still desperate to impress, and Miranda’s personal life is a total wreck (Che Diaz!).

El Deafo: Season 1 (Apple TV+ series) — This animated series follows a young deaf girl who unearths her inner superhero while also losing her hearing. Naturally, her hearing device situates itself on her chest, which may or may not have something to do with those newfound heroes. Let’s hear it for alter egos that can be extraordinary..

Station Eleven: Season 1 (HBO Max limited series) — This post-apocalyptic drama series revolves around survivors of a flu, and hopefully, their society is faring a lot better (at least in terms of cooperating with each other) than real life.

Rebelde: Season 1 (Netflix series) — Here comes a sequel to the Mexican telenovela/soap opera that’s insanely popular in Argentina. The story revolves around a snooty boarding school where one can barely stomach the drama while students fight during a Battle of the Bands. Everyone here wants a musical career, but of course, there’s romantic and friendship-related hijinks along the way, along with a secret society that’s pulling strings.

Action Pack: Season 1 (Netflix series) — Park the kiddos in front of this one, so they can follow a new superhero class who operate on both hearts and smarts while vanquishing the villains who descend upon Hope Springs.