‘Wolf Hall’ Sequel, Morning After on ‘White Lotus,’ David Blaine, Stars on Broadway

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light

SUNDAY: A decade after Masterpiece first presented the absorbing adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novels about King Henry VIII’s most trusted—until he wasn’t—minister, counselor and hatchet man Thomas Cromwell, the sequel and conclusion arrives, with Emmy nominees Mark Rylance (Cromwell) and Damian Lewis (Henry) reprising their roles. This king’s court wasn’t known for happy endings. (Just ask his wives.) And so it goes for Cromwell, who sacrifices his soul to do the mercurial monarch’s bidding but learns the limits of obedience when palace intrigue contrives to condemn him to history’s chopping block. The masterful six-part series opens with the king wedding the lovely Jane Seymour (Miss Scarlet’s Kate Phillips) before the blood has even dried on the execution of second wife Anne Boleyn. As the ghost of Cromwell’s beloved Cardinal Wolsey (Jonathan Pryce) warns his protégé about the king, “Don’t turn your back on him.” It’s too late. He’s already put out his neck for the despot.

The White Lotus

SUNDAY: After the shocking debauchery that broke the Internet last weekend, the morning after dawns for the guests at the exotic Thailand resort. It’s an especially fraught awakening for brothers Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Lochlan (Sam Nivola), while Laurie (Carrie Coon) smolders when her bestie Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan) downplays her actions from the night before. “We’re the same people we were in the 10th grade,” Laurie scoffs. Elsewhere on the complex, security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) continues his desperate search for the missing gun, and Piper’s (Sarah Catherine Hook) parents head to the temple to meet their daughter’s spiritual guru. They could all use a good cleansing.

David Blaine: Do Not Attempt

SUNDAY: Magician and “endurance artist” David Blaine has captured the world’s attention with his outrageous stunts (example: standing on an ice block in Times Square for 63 hours), and now he returns the favor in a six-part docuseries by traveling the world to immerse himself in other cultures’ death-defying feats and magical rituals. As the title cautions: Do not try these at home. The journey begins in Brazil, where he’s inspired by the nation’s daredevils and athletes, then moves on to Southeast Asia (at 10/9c), where he meets people unfazed by sharp objects or venomous creatures.

60 Minutes

SUNDAY: The stars have arrived on Broadway this season (with ticket prices soaring accordingly), and Jon Wertheim goes backstage with George Clooney as he prepares to make his Broadway debut as legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck, based on the 2005 movie he co-wrote and directed. Earlier, on CBS News Sunday Morning (9 am/ET, check local listings), 60 Minutes’ Bill Whitaker interviews Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, teaming in a new Broadway production of Shakespeare’s Othello, one of the hottest and priciest seats in town.

When Calls the Heart

SUNDAY: The Western period drama’s 12th season ends on a high note, with schoolteacher Elizabeth (Erin Krakow) preparing for her students’ graduation and a pleasant summer with her Canadian Mountie beau Nathan (Kevin McGarry). It’s also an eventful time for her former fiancé Lucas (Chris McNally), who’s off in search of a stash of missing gold.

INSIDE WEEKEND TV:

• NCAA Basketball: Second round action in the men’s tournament begins Saturday at 12:10 pm/ET on CBS with No. 4 Purdue vs. Cinderella team No. 12 McNeese, with more games on TNT and TBS in the evening. 16 more teams play on Sunday. Women’s first round action continues Saturday at noon/ET on ESPN, with games on ABC, ESPN2, ESPNews and ESPNU, with second round games beginning Sunday. Go to ncaa.com for the latest listings.
• Single Black Female 3: The Final Chapter (Saturday, 8/7c, Lifetime): The thriller franchise reaches its conclusion with an exonerated Monica (Raven Goodwin) rebuilding her life, while her fugitive half-sister Simone (Amber Riley) plots a return to Houston from exile in Mexico.
• Hearts Around the Table: Jenna’s First Love (Saturday, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel): An event planner (Ashley Newbrough) tackles a billionaire’s charity bash only to learn the mogul’s right-hand man (Steve Lund) is her old flame.
• Lucy Worsley Investigates (Sunday, 8/7c, PBS): Before the Wolf Hall sequel, learn the background of Henry VIII’s daughter, Princess Mary (played in the series by Lilit Lesser), known to history as “Bloody Mary” and whose reconciliation with the king is a key part of the series opener.
• Tracker (Sunday, 8/7c, CBS): Colter (Justin Hartley) gets a crash course in dark magic during his search for a missing teenage musician in New Orleans. Followed by Watson (9/8c), featuring Randall Park’s return as nemesis James Moriarty, with Watson (Morris Chestnut) still suffering from hallucinations while the team treats a woman whose memory resets every three minutes. On The Equalizer (10/9c), McCall (Queen Latifah) helps a military whistleblower who goes AWOL.
• The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (Sunday, 8/7c, CNN): The networks’ Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir reports “Adaptation Nation,” visiting sites including California, Florida, Phoenix, London and Amsterdam to meet innovators helping communities prepare to withstand extreme weather calamities.
• Dark Winds (Sunday, 9/8c, AMC): The discovery of B.J. Vines’ skeletal remains in a ravine causes complications for Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) at work and at home. In New Mexico, border agent Bernadette (Jessica Matten) apologizes to oilman Tom Spenser (Bruce Greenwood) while continuing to snoop on his property.
• The Righteous Gemstones (Sunday, 10/9c, HBO): Eli (John Goodman) tries to keep his relationship with his late wife’s bestie Lori (Megan Mullally) a secret, knowing his offspring will raise holy hell should they find out. The siblings are already squawking over Kelvin’s (Adam DeVine) nomination as “Top Christ Following Man of the Year”—which amuses Lori’s son, Corey (Seann William Scott): “You guys are too funny, the way you all rip on each other.” Eli’s not so amused.
• Marie Antoinette (Sunday, 10/9c, PBS): If Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light whets your appetite for historical drama, stay tuned for Season 2 of the series depicting the doomed Queen of France (Emilia Schüle) and embattled King Louis XVI (Louis Cunningham).