Back to Paris with Emily, Musical Tribute to Alabama, Awkwafina Hits the ‘Jackpot,’ Summertime in ‘Bel-Air’

Season Premiere

Experiencing Paris withdrawal after the Olympics extinguished its summer flame? No worries. Netflix smartly drops the first half of Season 4 of its Paris-set romcom, with Emily (Lily Collins) still torn between two flames: French chef Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), whose wedding just imploded (with a baby on the way) and British financier beau Alfie (Lucien Laviscount), who dumped her when he realized she wasn’t over Gabriel. What’s a fretful girl to do? Wear fabulous fashions, bien sur. Should you prefer to ignore the ridiculous plot, just enjoy the show as a travel brochure. Five episodes drop now, five more on September 12.

Special

8/7c

Some of country music’s biggest stars pay tribute to a legendary band in a two-hour musical salute to Alabama. Among the talent performing the group’s hits: Jason Aldean with “Love in the First Degree,” Little Big Town with “The Closer You Get,” Brad Paisley with “Old Alabama,” Pam Tillis and Lorrie Morgan teaming for “Feels So Right” and Blake Shelton joined by Steve Wariner and Kara Britz for “Old Flame.” The special also includes testimonials from the likes of Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, Vince Gill and Evander Holyfield, with members of Alabama looking back on their career and performing “Mountain Music” and “My Home’s in Alabama.”

Movie Premiere

Winning can be deadly in a frantic action-comedy, directed by Paul Feig and starring Awkwafina as Katie, a wannabe actress in L.A. who discovers she’s holding a $3.6 billion super-lottery ticket. Cool, huh? It would be if it weren’t for the fact that in 2030, California has rigged the game so that anyone who kills the ticket holder can claim the prize. Helping Katie repeatedly dodge near-certain death is Noel (John Cena), a jackpot protection agent who’ll get a share of her winnings if he can keep her alive. Simu Liu co-stars as a rival protection agent who battles the good-hearted Noel for Katie’s commission.

Season Premiere

Summertime, and the living is easy — but not without speed bumps for those in the elite L.A. enclave where West Philly transplant Will Smith (Jabari Banks) is living with his extended Banks family in a reimagined dramatic version of the classic The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air sitcom. Season 3, launching with three episodes, opens with a Juneteenth celebration, but soon Will gets down to business with cousin Carlton (Olly Sholotan) as they work together (at times at odds) to establish a new brand, “Blackccess.”

The end is nigh for this terrific supernatural thriller, with only one more episode to go. While Father David (Mike Colter) is forced to witness the deconsecration of his beloved church, he and the assessment team (Katja Herbers as Kristen, Aasif Mandvi as Ben) get one last case from the Vatican: to vet a renowned Stephen Hawking-like theoretical physicist (John Christopher Jones) whom the church hopes to hire as a consultant. Seems his recent erratic behavior has rekindled rumors of his having dabbled in the dark arts. Tony winners Christian Borle and Denis O’Hare guest-star as, respectively, the scientist’s overprotective private secretary and a Vatican security officer with a proposition for David. This all appears to be prelude to a showdown between our heroes and the wicked Leland Townsend’s (Michael Emerson) gathering of the demonic 60. However it all ends, it will be too soon.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• COBRA: Rebellion (9/8c, PBS): After a woman’s fatal encounter with the police, the U.K. government is put on the spot for its anti-protest policies.
• Rick and Morty: The Anime (midnight/11c, Adult Swim): An anime spinoff from director Takashi Sano puts a new spin on the galactic misadventures of mad scientist/samurai Rick and his grandkids Morty and Summer. The dubbed English-language episodes air late night on Thursdays, with subtitled episodes with the Japanese voice cast airing midnight/11c on Saturdays starting Aug. 17.
• Average Joe (streaming on Netflix): The first season of the acclaimed BET+ thriller begins a run on the streaming giant, starring Deon Cole (black-ish) as a plumber plunged into deadly intrigue when he learns his late father stole $10 million from the Russian mob—and they want it back.
• Wisting (streaming on Sundance Now): The Scandinavian crime drama returns for a fourth season (available as a binge), with Norwegian detective William Wisting (Sven Nordin) and his team on the hunt for a 6-year-old British boy gone missing from his hotel room.