Lex Luthor a Free Agent of Chaos on ‘Superman & Lois,’ ‘Real Sports’ Goes Swimming, Sports and Cinema in ‘Black Pop,’ ‘FBI True’

Superman & Lois

The rare superhero series that managed to escape the CW purge—its companion show, Gotham Knights, was not so lucky—Superman & Lois puts the spotlight on iconic villain Lex Luthor (now played by The Walking Dead veteran Michael Cudlitz) in Season 3’s penultimate episode. Lex is on the cusp of being released from prison after 17 years, and odds are he’ll soon be a thorn in everyone’s side—at least those who are sticking around for Season 4. (Nearly everyone but the Kent family, and new co-star Cudlitz, was dropped as series regulars for next season in a significant budget cut, though some are likely to appear on a recurring basis.)

 

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel

News from the athletic pool: Synchronized swimming has been rebranded into artistic swimming, with a more extreme-sports turn toward high-flying acrobatics and fast choreography. This may be more fun to watch, but is it more dangerous to athletes? Soledad O’Brien interviews former members of the U.S. National Team who say the evolution of the sport wrecked their mental health. Another segment investigates the collapsed career of rookie NFL punter Matt Araiza, who was dropped by the Buffalo Bills before his first season began after being named in a lawsuit involving a campus gang rape. Months later, San Diego’s D.A. declined to file charges, so where does that leave the unemployed Araiza?

Black Pop: Celebrating the Power of Black Culture

The final two segments of the pop-culture retrospective looks at breakthroughs in the world of Black sports, where superstars like Stephen Curry reign, and Black film, covering genres including romance (Waiting to Exhale), comedy (Friday) and horror (Get Out).

FBI True

Real-life FBI agents look back at some of their most notable and notorious cases in the third season of the docuseries from FBI co-creator Craig Turk and FBI agent-turned-producer Anne Beagan. Among the high-profile cases revisited: the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing and the 30th  anniversary of the siege at Waco, Texas, the D.C. sniper attacks, the Golden State Killer and the 2016 NYC Chelsea bombing.

INSIDE TUESDAY TV:

• Beat Shazam (8/7, Fox): Can a team of nuns beat the odds and take home the million-dollar prize by naming that tune? (We’re guessing the soundtrack of The Sound of Music isn’t on the playlist.)
• Mama Bears (10/9c, PBS): An Independent Lens documentary is a study in unconditional love, profiling the “mama bear” movement within conservative Christian circles, comprised of mothers who reconcile their religious beliefs with their support for their LGBTQ children.
• Where Is Baby Gabriel? (streaming on Peacock): A three-part docuseries explores the mystery surrounding the 2009 disappearance of infant Gabriel Johnson, whose mother Elizabeth first claimed she killed the baby, then insisted she gave him away to a couple in a park. If the boy is alive, he’d be a teenager now.
• 85 South: Ghetto Legends (streaming on Netflix): A comedy trio (DC Young Fly, Karlous Miller and Chico Bean) freestyles their way through a no-boundaries comedy special.