TV Watchlist: 'Reservation Dogs' and 'Heartstopper' Return, 'Guardians 3' Comes to Disney+

Plus the finale of Idris Elba's Apple TV+ series "Hijack" and the second season of "The Lincoln Lawyer" concludes Plus the finale of Idris Elba's Apple TV+ series "Hijack" and the second season of "The Lincoln Lawyer" concludes Week of July 29 – August 4 Somehow, this week was even hotter than last week. And also, incredibly, there is just as much great television to watch while staying out of the heat. From the final season of “Reservation Dogs” and “Physical,” to new seasons of “Dark Winds,” “The Lincoln Lawyer,” and “Heartstopper.” Plus a starry new drama (with Sigourney Weaver) for Amazon, “The Lost Flowers of Alice Heart,” a documentary on hip hop culture and mixtapes and the return of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” (for “Vol. 3”), this week has something for everyone trying to stay cool. And then some! On with the television! Reservation Dogs Wednesday, August 2, Hulu Source: Hulu One of television’s best, most underrated series returns for its third and final season. Created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi, “Reservation Dogs” follows a group of Indigenous teens living on a reservation in Oklahoma. The kids are all wonderful as is the story behind the series, which is the first show to feature all Indigenous writers and directors and an almost entirely Indigenous North American cast and production team. That’s a big deal. And it would be one thing if the show’s heart was in a good place but it wasn’t super entertaining but “Reservation Dogs” is one of the funniest, warmest, most heart-tugging original series to come along in the past few years. Embroidered with surreal flourishes and a daring formal unpredictability, if you haven’t been watching “Reservation Dogs,” it is just wonderful. It’ll be hard to say goodbye. But we should all feel lucky to have had “Reservation Dogs” at all. And better yet – there are two new episodes on premiere night. What a show! [[TRAILER](] Hijack Wednesday, August 2, Apple TV+ Source: Apple TV+ You can finally breathe easy. “Hijack,” the real-time thriller starring Idris Elba aboard a hijacked airliner, is over. If you haven’t been watching, there’s been at least one huge, clutch-your-pearls twist per episode, and the series’ real-time format (shades of our beloved Jack Bauer and “24”) has only added to the intensity. This was not a show that you could watch before bed. Sleep well everyone. [[TRAILER](] Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Wednesday, August 2, Disney+ Source: Marvel Studios Ready for one last ride? Writer/director James Gunn, who is now overseeing DC Studios at Warner Bros., returned for the third part of his “Guardians of the Galaxy” saga. This time around, the Guardians, led by Star Lord (Chris Pratt) and including Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista), are on a desperate mission to save their friend Rocket (Bradley Cooper). Along the way we get introduced to a new big bad, the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) and get extensive flashbacks to Rocket’s tortured upbringing as a genetic experiment. It’s sad and very intense (and enough to have the movie earn a special award from PETA) but it deepens the experience in a profound and unexpected way. This might be the most radically pro-animal movie that Hollywood has ever produced and it’s housed inside a rollicking, superhero-adjacent space opera. That’s pretty cool. (There’s also a ton of unforgettable moments and gonzo visuals.) When it comes to “Guardians of the Galaxy,” they really might have saved the best for last. [[TRAILER](] Mixtape Tuesday, August 1, Paramount+ Source: Paramount+ This new documentary details how mix tape culture helped hip hop culture enter the mainstream. From the official press release: “Before radio play, the internet, and social media, there were mixtapes. DJs were tastemakers, trendsetters and creators of the sound that became the biggest musical genre on the planet. The importance of mixtapes goes well beyond the tapes themselves. Mixtapes were a form of currency and a signifier that someone was 'in the know' and had their ear to the streets. The culture was too strong to be stopped, and the artists were too talented to be ignored – so they turned the sub-culture into the mainstream, and made hip hop what it is today.” Ready to pop it in your boom box? Because we sure are. [[TRAILER](] Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Disney+ Source: Marvel Studios If you need more “Guardians of the Galaxy” in your life, either before you watch “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3” or after, then head on over to Disney+. That’s where you can watch the first two movies in the franchise – 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” and 2017’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” both among the very best movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You can also see “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018) and “Avengers: Endgame” (2019), both of which heavily feature the characters, on Disney+. Star Lord and the gang also pop up in last year’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” (available on Disney+ now). But the real hidden gem is “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special,” not only because it establishes crucial lore that pops up in “Vol. 3” (and introduces Cosmo, the psychic Soviet dog, played by Maria Bakalova) but because it’s really sweet and charming. Just because it’s a 40-minute Christmas special shouldn’t make it any less important to the overall narrative. Rocket agrees. [[WATCH](] Source: AMC “Dark Winds” Sunday, July 30 at 9 p.m., AMC AMC’s underrated detective series, based on the series of books by Tony Hillerman (season one was primarily based on “Listening Women” and “People of Darkness”), returns for a second season. Starring the great Zahn McClarnon (who also appears on “Reservation Dogs”) as a tribal police lieutenant and Kiowa Gordon as an undercover FBI agent (and McClarnon’s deputy), working crimes that are on and off the reservations. If you haven’t watched yet, the show has a cool period setting (the 1970’s) and a different approach to your typical procedural mechanics. [[TRAILER](] “Physical” Wednesday, August 2, Apple TV+ Rose Byrne’s 1980s-set aerobics drama returns for its third and final season. The show has always had a terrific cast (with Paul Sparks, Lou Taylor Pucci and Anna Gunn among those that have shown up) and it’s always known to keep the three L’s at the forefront of every episode – life, love and leotards. And really what more do you need? [[TRAILER](] “Heartstopper” Thursday, August 3, Netflix Netflix’s surprise breakout LGBTQ romance (based on the graphic novel by Alice Oseman) returns for a second season (and eight new episodes). All episodes stream on Aug. 3. Prepare to swoon anew. But hey, it’s good to have a summer romance, right? [[TRAILER](] “The Lincoln Lawyer” Thursday, August 3, Netflix The second half of the show’s second season is finally here. These five episodes will wrap up the storyline that was started in early July (and was based on Michael Connelly’s 2011 novel “The Fifth Witness”). How is Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) going to get out of this one? [[TRAILER](] “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” Friday, August 4, Prime Video This new series, based on the book by Holly Ringland, is a decades-spanning drama about an orphaned girl, a mysterious fire and her relationship with her grandmother (played by Sigourney Weaver). Each new installment in this seven-part Australian series debut weekly. [[TRAILER](] 2034 Armacost Ave. | Los Angeles, CA 90025 [Unsubscribe](