Cirque du Soleil’s Comeback, ‘Evil’s Dark and Stormy Night, Rebellion in COBRA, Netflix’s ‘Decameron’

Cirque Du Soleil: Without a Net

What do world-class acrobats do when they’re grounded by an unforeseen pandemic? As you’d expect, they worry about the future, which is what happens in a documentary following cast and crew members of Cirque du Soleil’s flagship Las Vegas production O when the show shuts down along with the rest of the world in March 2020. While trying to stay limber in quarantine, they’re rocked when the company files for bankruptcy protection, laying off much of the work force. But eventually, the show will go back on, and Without a Net chronicles their efforts to get the watery spectacle up and running again with an eight-week deadline to reopening night.

Evil

Even by this supernatural thriller’s extreme standards, the Category 5 hurricane approaching New York makes for an unusually bumpy and terrifying dark and stormy night. While Kristen’s (Katja Herbers) chatterbox daughters hoard toilet paper (a running gag) and pour margarita salt to ward off wandering spirits, there’s a clear and present danger from satanic villain Leland Townsend (Michael Emerson), who’s encroaching even further onto Kirsten’s home turf. But not if Kristen’s mom Cheryl (Christine Lahti) has anything to do with it. “I’m the f***ing storm,” she growls as she makes her latest move against her adversary. The fallout is, as you’d expect, fierce — though, as always in Evil, laced with bizarre humor, tenderness and palpable sexual tension.

Cobra

What next for beleaguered U.K. Prime Minister Robert Sutherland (Robert Carlyle), who in previous seasons dealt with the fallout from a power-disrupting solar flare and mysterious cyberattacks. In Season 3, his cabinet faces opposition from an environmental protest group occupying a tunnel to disrupt a fast-speed railway network. When the demonstration leads to disaster, Sutherland is distressed to learn that his own daughter Ellie (Holly Cattle) is part of the movement.

The Decameron

Set in a 14th-century Florence where no two people seem to share the same accent, this clumsy eight-part period comedy attempts to make dark farce out of the Black Plague. A collection of venal and/or vapid and always vulgar elites and their scheming servants convenes on a villa in the countryside to wait out the medieval pandemic. I made it through one tiresome episode before realizing the streamer was also offering Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Relief!

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• Paris Olympics (3 pm/ET, USA Network, streaming on Peacock): The U.S. women’s soccer team begins its battle for the gold with new coach Emma Hayes, taking on Zambia in the first round. A replay is scheduled for 9/8c. USA also offers live coverage of men’s rugby qualifying round (8 am/ET) and women’s handball (1 pm/ET). All events stream live and are available for replay on Peacock. For a comprehensive lineup, go to nbcolympics.com/schedule.
• Big Brother (8/7c, CBS): The marathon summer reality show moves its Thursday live eviction show and Wednesday episodes (starting July 31) an hour earlier. Sunday episodes remain at 9/8c.
• Primos (8/7c, Disney Channel): Disney offers a sneak peek with two episodes of an animated children’s comedy inspired by creator Natasha Kline’s Southern California upbringing in a multicultural Mexican American family. Myrna Velasco voices little Tater, whose “summer of me” is disrupted when 12 cousins move in. The first nine episodes drop on Disney+ on Friday, with two episodes airing weekly on Disney Channel starting Saturday at 9 am/8c.
• Charlie Hustle and the Matter of Pete Rose (9/8c, HBO): The gripping sports documentary wraps with two episodes, covering the highs (Pete Rose breaking Ty Cobb’s hit record in 1985) and lows (the gambling scandal and banishment from baseball) of the Cincinnati Reds legend’s career.

ON THE STREAM:

• Criminal Minds: Evolution (streaming on Paramount+): In the season’s penultimate episode, the BAU tracks Gold Star assassin Jade (Liana Liberato) to another training site, leading to an explosive showdown.
• The Ainsley McGregor Mysteries: A Case for the Winemaker (streaming on Great American Pure Flix): Candace Cameron Bure stars in Great American Mysteries’ first original mystery-movie franchise, playing the title role of a Chicago criminologist who moves back to her Texas hometown and promptly becomes involved in solving a murder at her friend’s winery. The movie is scheduled to air Oct. 5 on Great American Family’s linear channel.
• The Kardashians (streaming on Hulu): The latest season ends with the family gathering at Kylie Jenner’s house to rehash the year they’ve all just had. Was any of it off camera?
• Troppo (streaming on Prime Video and Amazon Freevee): The Australian crime drama returns for a second season, with ex-cop Ted (Thomas Jane) and P.I. Amanda (Nicole Chamoun) tackling a new murder in their tropical Queensland town. All eight episodes are available for a Down Under binge.