Jack Ryan Finale, New Seasons of ‘Summer’ and ‘Foundation,’ a Basketball ‘Goliath’

Series Finale

Turns out that Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One isn’t the only action alternative this weekend. The final two episodes of the global thriller deliver the usual Clancy hallmarks: explosions, heroism, and tragedy—and as telegraphed at the start of the season, a round of grueling torture endured by the intrepid Jack Ryan (John Krasinski) from one of the slinkiest villains to date—as if you couldn’t tell from the first look that Zuleikha Robinson was up to no good. Jack’s main squeeze Cathy (Abbie Cornish) will soon enough realize that her World Health Organization friend is no ally, and with Jack in Myanmar with Mike November (Michael Kelly) and Domingo Chavez (Michael Peña) to retrieve Chao Fah (Louis Ozawa) and his family—and the all-important MacGuffin of the mysterious bomb triggers—all hell’s about to break loose.

Season Premiere

The YA swooning will be intense this summer as the romantic drama based on Jenny Han’s best-selling trilogy returns for a second season, launching with the first three of eight episodes (through August 18). Belly (Lola Tung) is back at New England’s Cousins Beach, where the fallout lingers from her previous love triangle involving two hunky brothers, Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). What could bring all these broken hearts back together? A cause, like stopping the sale of their beloved beach house. Kyra Sedgwick joins the cast as someone who just might literally pull the rug out from under all of them.

Season Premiere

I’m not sure it will help, but Apple TV+ has provided a three-minute recap of Season 1 to get us ready for a second season of the lavish, though densely challenging, adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s sci-fi classic. You may not always grasp what’s going on in this sprawling saga, which takes a 138-year time jump between seasons. But it’s undeniably fun to watch Lee Pace as the cloned emperor Brother Day fights off an assassination attempt, then greet his betrothed Queen Sareth of Cloud Dominion (Ella-Rae Smith), who’s clearly not got his or the Empire’s best interests at heart. As for visionary Hari Seldon (Jared Harris), whose Foundation is once again in the Empire’s crosshairs, he’s trapped in space while his protégée Gaal (Lou Llobell) gets to know her daughter, Salvor (Leah Harvey).

Documentary Premiere

10/9c

The Showtime sports docuseries will begin airing on the linear premium channel Sunday, but fans of basketball history can binge all three parts on the streamer, reliving the achievements of NBA Hall of Famer and record-breaker Wilt Chamberlain. The series uses artificial intelligence to recreate the voice of the basketball star, who died in 1999, to narrate his life story. Contemporary sports figures including Kevin Garnett (an executive producer), Pat Riley, Bill Walton, Lisa Leslie, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and the late Jim Brown also weigh in.

8/7c

Revolutionary War action reaches Fort Ticonderoga, where Jamie (Sam Heughan) is commanding a crew of soldiers while Claire (Caitríona Balfe) tends to the wounded, all awaiting an assault from the British army and their cannon fire. From the 1770s to the 1980s, Brianna (Sophie Skelton) in a hard hat meets some hardheads in her new job, while Roger (Richard Rankin) researches time travel.

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• Tough as Nails (8/7c, CBS): Season 3 champ Lia Mort returns to greet this year’s contestants in an apple orchard, where the team competition hinges on who can gather the most bushels in the quickest time.
• Family Law (8/7c, The CW): In a timely subplot, Abby (Jewel Staite) and Daniel (Zach Smadu) represent a trans teen whose grandpa is blocking her from receiving hormone replacement therapy.
• Run the World (9/8c, Starz): The Season 2 finale wraps with BFFs Renee (Bresha Webb), Whitney (Amber Stevens West) and Sondi (Corbin Reed) heading to a listening party for Jason’s (Jay Walker) band, prompting reflection among the gal pals on how to move forward without regrets. 

ON THE STREAM:

• Bird Box Barcelona (streaming on Netflix): The horror hit goes global, expanding to the Spanish city, where survivors wear blindfolds to avoid making eye contact with a force that makes people go suicidal and homicidal. Too bad they can’t admire the local architecture.
• Quicksand (streaming on Shudder): Not for the claustrophobic: An estranged couple gets uncomfortably close on a trip to the Columbian rainforest when they run from danger right into a pit of quicksand. And then a big venomous snake shows up while they’re trying not to sink. Shudders for sure.
• Imagine Dragons Live in Vegas (streaming on Hulu): The rock band returns to its roots to perform at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium in a concert documentary that traces the Dragons’ rise to pop stardom.
• Too Hot to Handle (streaming on Netflix): The fifth season of the mischievous reality show is set aboard a yacht in the Caribbean that’s anything but The Love Boat‑because once again, the only way to win and score a $200,000 payday is to remain celibate. The 10-episode season plays out over three weeks.
• Lincoln Log Masters (streaming on The Roku Channel): We’re not talking toys but actual log homes, built to custom order in a reality series about a crew of Oregon log builders whose work carries the Lincoln Log stamp of approval.