2019 Democratic Presidential Debates
The Democrats are at it again, this time on a
stage in Detroit. Last month’s debates yielded
meaningful gains for Kamala Harris and
Elizabeth Warren. Can they maintain their
momentum? Or will any of 17 other contend-
ers pull closer to front-runner Joe Biden with
dramatic performances of their own? Night 1 in
this pair of debates will feature a Warren–Bernie
Sanders face-off. Night 2 will create a Harris–
Biden rematch. Tuesday, July 30, and Wednesday,
July 31, at 8 p.m., CNN
The Red Sea Diving Resort
Chris Evans, having just hung up his shield as
Captain America, gets back into action in a tense
thriller based on a real-life rescue mission. Evans
plays Ari Levinson, a bearded Mossad agent
who patched together an unlikely operation that
smuggled Ethiopian Jews out of their war-torn
country using a phony coastal resort in Sudan.
Ben Kingsley, Michael Kenneth Williams, and
Haley Bennett co-star. Available for streaming
Wednesday, July 31, NetflixUnmasking Jihadi John:
Anatomy of a Terrorist
Mohammed Emwazi was as brutal a terrorist as
they come. Raised in England and radicalized in
his 20s, Emwazi turned up in the role of a masked
ISIS executioner in several horrifying 2014–15
videos that showed him beheading Western hos-
tages. He quickly earned the nickname Jihadi
John and the attention of U.S. and British intel-
ligence agents who teamed up to identify and kill
him. Wednesday, July 31, at 8 p.m., HBO
No One Saw a Thing
Ken McElroy was 47 when he was shot dead
in his pickup in the middle of a tiny Missouri
town. Dozens of residents witnessed the killing
but claim even today to be unable to identify a
triggerman. McElroy was known as the town
menace. He had been arrested for arson, cattle
theft, the shooting of the town grocer, and statu-
tory rape, but he’d managed to remain free to
continue terrorizing his neighbors. This six-part
documentary series revisits the 1981 murder26 ARTS Television
The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching
HBO,^JayMaidment/
HuluMonday, July 29
American Sniper
Bradley Cooper delivers a
career performance in Clint
Eastwood’s war drama
based on the memoir of
Navy sharpshooter Chris
Kyle. (2015) 8 p.m., AMC
Tue sday, July 3 0
Star Wars
Luke Skywalker, Princess
Leia, and Han Solo battle
Darth Vader in the movie
that launched the franchise.
(1977) 10:30 p.m., TCM
Wednesday, July 31
The Last of the Mohicans
Daniel Day-Lewis plays
the titular hero in a dash-
ing adaptation of a James
Fenimore Cooper novel set
on the 18th-century frontier.
(1992) 10 p.m., Ovation
Thursday, Aug. 1
Blood Simple
The Coen brothers’ low-
budget debut was a noir
masterpiece about a mur-
derous love triangle in
which no act of treachery
goes according to plan.
Frances McDormand co-
stars. (1984) 9:40 p.m.,
Cinemax
Friday, Aug. 2
Primal Fear
A hotshot Chicago attor-
ney gets in over his head
when he decides to defend
a teenager accused of
murdering the city’s arch-
bishop. With Richard Gere,
Laura Linney, and Edward
Norton. (1996) 10 p.m., Flix
Saturday, Aug. 3
The Favourite
Olivia Colman won her
Oscar playing Queen Anne
in this fantastically skewed
period piece about two
ambitious women vying for
the demented monarch’s
affections. With Rachel
Weisz and Emma Stone.
(2018) 8 p.m., HBO
Sunday, Aug. 4
Wee Willie Winkie
John Ford directed 10-year-
old Shirley Temple in this
family-friendly drama set
on a British military base in
colonial India. (1937)
9:30 p.m., TCMMovies on TV
Mindy Kaling might just be able to pull this off.
For her miniseries reboot of one of the most
beloved rom-coms of the 1990s, Kaling has a
sharp script plus a charming lead. Nathalie
Emmanuel (Game of Thrones) plays a driven
New Yorker who travels to a London wedding
at which she reunites with three besties from
college and inadvertently falls for the boyfriend
of one of them. The plot departs the Hugh
Grant–Andie MacDowell original, except in
spirit. Nikesh Patel and Rebecca Rittenhouse
co-star, and MacDowell adds a cameo. Avail-
able for streaming Wednesday, July 31, HuluShow of the week
Emmanuel and Patel: A chance encounterFour Weddings and a Funeraland how the cover-up still haunts the town.
Thursday, Aug. 1, at 11 p.m., Sundance
A Black Lady Sketch Show
Open the doors and a lot of talent rushes in.
Insecure’s Issa Rae and comedy writer Robin
Thede teamed up to create this sketch comedy
show, the first featuring an all-black, all-female
core cast. Thede will co-star with fellow funny-
women Gabrielle Dennis, Ashley Nicole Black,
and Quinta Brunson. The season’s scheduled
parade of big-name guest stars only begins with
Angela Bassett, Laverne Cox, and Patti LaBelle.
Friday, Aug. 2, at 11 p.m., HBO
Other highlights
Sherman’s Showcase
A new series satirizes Soul Train by offering a
look back on the 40-year history of a fictional
music-dance-variety show. Bashir Salahuddin
stars as the Don Cornelius–like host. Wednesday,
July 31, at 10 p.m., IFC
Dear White People
See if a strong comedy series can get even bet-
ter in Season 3 for Samantha and other black
undergrads at an Ivy League school that’s less
progressive than it thinks. Available for stream-
ing Friday, Aug. 2, Netflix
Preacher
A final season begins for a supernaturally pos-
sessed Texas preacher on a quest to find God.
With Dominic Cooper and Ruth Negga. Sunday,
Aug. 4, at 9 p.m., AMC- All listings are Eastern Time.
Black Lady’s Dennis, Brunson, Black, and Thede