What’s on TV This Week: ‘Cruel Summer,’ ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ Earth Day docs and more
SUNDAY
Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Matthew McConaughey and “Hamilton’s” Lin-Manuel Miranda ask that you kindly “Roll Up Your Sleeves” and get your COVID-19 vaccination if you haven’t already in this special. 7 p.m. NBC
It’s all about location, location, location as the “56th Academy of Country Music Awards” emanates from Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House, Ryman Auditorium and Bluebird Cafe. Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton cohost. 8 p.m. CBS
Frumious Bandersnatch — sorry, we mean Benedict Cumberbatch — lends his voice to a new episode of “The Simpsons.” 8 p.m. Fox
Kristin Scott Thomas (“The English Patient”) salutes her grandfather’s service in the Royal Navy during WWII on a new episode of “My Grandparents’ War.” 8 p.m. KOCE
Hell yeah! Pro wrestling’s “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is profiled on a new “Biography,” followed by the debut of the memorabilia-seeking series “WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures” hosted by Mick Foley. 8 and 10 p.m. A&E
An obstetrician has reservations about one of her residents in the TV movie “Revenge Delivered.” With Olunike Adeliyi and Mary Antonini. 8 p.m. Lifetime
Local crime boss Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker) bumps up against a rival mob family in the Season 2 premiere of the fact-based drama “Godfather of Harlem.” 9 p.m. Epix
I scream, you scream, we all scream for you know what on the season finale of “The Food That Built America.” 9 p.m. Food Network
Bestselling author Jillian Lauren recalls her chilling conversations with a literal homicidal maniac in the five-part docuseries “Confronting a Serial Killer.” 9 p.m. Starz
Brad Pitt, an Oscar winner for his turn as an aging stuntman in 2019’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” is profiled on a new “E! True Hollywood Story.” 10 p.m. E!
Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie star in writer-director Quentin Tarantino’s fable set in tumultuous 1969 Tinsel Town.
The doctor is in for romantic partners currently on the outs in a second season of the docuseries “Couples Therapy.” With Dr. Orna Guralnik. 10 and 10:30 p.m. Showtime
Oscar winner Kate Winslet plays a troubled — aren’t they always? — police detective probing a murder in a small Pennsylvania town in the limited series “Mare of Easttown.” With Jean Smart and Guy Pearce. 10:05 p.m. HBO
A new “Ride With Norman Reedus” finds the actor and motorcycle enthusiast recalling roads traveled with celebrity companions including his “Walking Dead” costars Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Melissa McBride. 11:30 p.m. AMC
MONDAY
We’re off to see the author, the author of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” in a profile of L. Frank Baum on “American Experience.” 9 p.m. KOCE
“The Office’s” Rainn Wilson goes “Running Wild With Bear Grylls” through Utah’s majestic La Sal Mountains in a new episode of the outdoor adventure series. 9 p.m. National Geographic
Some of the stars of “Love & Hip Hop” reconvene for a “VH1 Couples Retreat” in this new reality series. 9 p.m. VH1
Sweet 16! The irreverent animated sitcom “American Dad” is back for a 16th season. 10 p.m. TBS
TUESDAY
Whither Bigfoot? An investigative journalist is desperately seeking “Sasquatch” somewhere in the forests of Northern California in this docuseries. Anytime, Hulu
Cable-news personalities Gretchen Carlson and Don Lemon shake their family trees on a new “Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” 8 p.m. KOCE
“Deadliest Catch” and “Storage Wars” return for their 17th and 13th seasons, respectively. 8 p.m. Discovery Channel; 9 and 9:30 p.m. A&E
May it please the court: The new docuseries “Independent Lens: Philly D.A.” follows Philadelphia Dist. Atty. Larry Krasner on his crusade to enact criminal justice reform in the City of Brotherly Love. 9 p.m. KOCE
It’s a cruel, “Cruel Summer” for a social outcast suspected in the disappearance of the local teen queen supreme in this new mystery drama set in 1990s Texas. With Chiara Aurelia and Olivia Holt. 9 and 10 p.m. Freeform
They’re in for a penny, in for impound in “Hustle & Tow,” a new unscripted series that tags along with tow-truck drivers around the country. 10 and 10:30 p.m. A&E
WEDNESDAY
Have snorkel, will travel: “Nature” goes swimming with the “Sharks of Hawaii” then a new “Nova” charts efforts to protect the world’s endangered coral reefs. 8 and 9 p.m. KOCE
The “PBS NewsHour” special “Critical Care: America vs. the World” compares and contrasts the costs and the quality of healthcare at home and abroad. 10 p.m. KOCE
Past participants get a second chance at romance in the new spinoff “Married at First Sight: Unmatchables.” 10 p.m. Lifetime
THURSDAY
Faith and begorrah! A road construction crew runs afoul of an ancient Irish vampire in the 2020 thriller “Boys From County Hell.” Anytime, Shudder
Happy Earth Day to you, happy Earth Day to you! Celebrate with the docuseries “Life in Color With David Attenborough” and “Secrets of the Whales” narrated by Sigourney Weaver. Anytime, Netflix; anytime, Disney+
A pop music icon helps a pitiable pachyderm in Pakistan pack his trunk and pull up stakes for a nature preserve in Cambodia in the documentary “Cher & the Loneliest Elephant.” Anytime, Paramount+
Pop star Cher leads effort to rescue 35-year-old Kaavan, dubbed the world’s loneliest elephant, from captivity in Pakistan.
As falls Rutherford, so falls “Rutherford Falls.” Ed Helms (“The Office”) plays a resident of the quaint little burg that bears his family’s name in this new sitcom. Anytime, Peacock
Three’s company but four’s a crowd for the crew of a spacecraft bound for Mars in the 2021 sci-fi thriller “Stowaway.” With Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim and Toni Collette. Anytime, Netflix
The three-part special “Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World” follows the teen activist from Sweden on her global quest to sound the alarm about climate change. 8, 9 and 10 p.m. KOCE
“SNL’s” Melissa Villaseñor is mistress of ceremonies for the “2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards,” which will now be handing out the hardware to TV shows as well as movies. 10 p.m. IFC
Street magicians serve up illusions with a side of pranks in the new hidden-camera series “Big Trick Energy.” 10:30 p.m. truTV
FRIDAY
Finish him! A failed martial-arts franchise based on a classic video game gets a reboot in the 2021 action flick “Mortal Kombat.” With Lewis Tan and Jessica McNamee. Anytime, HBO Max
A teenage orphan/mapmaker faces down the forces of darkness in the lavish fantasy series “Shadow and Bone,” based on Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha YA trilogy. Jessie Mei Li stars. Anytime, Netflix
All hail! A new queen will be crowned as the reality competition “RuPaul’s Drag Race” sashays away from its 13th season. 8 p.m. VH1
Wherefore art thou, “Romeo and Juliet”? “The Crown’s” Josh O’Connor and “Fargo’s” Jessie Buckley play the two star-crossed lovers in the National Theatre’s modern-dress staging of Shakespeare’s tragic tale on “Great Performances.” 9 p.m. KOCE
Gabrielle Union and “Insecure’s” Issa Rae are among the guest stars who’ll be joining the shenanigans in a second season of “A Black Lady Sketch Show.” 11 p.m. HBO
SATURDAY
An unsuspecting woman gets caught up in a potentially fatal sibling rivalry in the TV movie “My Father’s Other Family.” With Kimberly-Sue Murray and Hannah Anderson. 8 p.m. Lifetime
Movies on TV this week: April 18: “Taxi Driver’ on Showtime; “Psycho” on TCM’; “When Harry Met Sally...” on Showtime and more
TV Grids for the entire week of April. 18 - 24 as PDF files you can download and print
What’s on TV: Television listings
Looking for what to watch on TV? Here are the television listings from the Los Angeles Times in printable PDF files.
Updates
10:00 a.m. April 20, 2021: This post has been updated with a new time slot for the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which will air tape-delayed at 10 p.m. on IFC on the West Coast.
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