Michelle Williams Is ‘Dying for Sex,’ ‘Fire Country’ Prepares a Spinoff, ‘Grosse Pointe’ on the Move, 50 Years of ‘Austin City Limits’

Dying for Sex

Winner of an Emmy for FX’s Fosse/Verdon, the remarkable Michelle Williams should be a front-runner again for her bold and unflinching performance in an eight-part drama (all episodes available) that brings new meaning to provocative. She’s Molly, whose terminal diagnosis of Stage 4 breast cancer propels her on a sensual journey to explore sexual desires she has long repressed and can’t begin to understand. The equally excellent Jenny Slate co-stars as her best friend Nikki, who upends her life to care for Molly, supporting her with equal parts rage and humor. Raw, wrenching, graphic and at times hysterically funny, Dying is enlivened by Williams’ affecting portrait of a woman bravely breaking every taboo with wonder and ferocious curiosity. With Sissy Spacek as Molly’s meddling mom, Jay Duplass as her baffled husband and Catastrophe’s Rob Delaney as a curious neighbor from across the hall. Inspired by a Wondery podcast created by Nikki Boyer and Molly Kochan.

Fire Country

Spinoffs from hit dramas are network TV’s lifeblood, which accounts for this episode (which once upon a time would be regarded as a “backdoor pilot”), setting up the already greenlighted Sheriff Country for next season. In the title role: Homeland alum Morena Baccarin as Bode’s (Max Thieriot) aunt, Sheriff Mickey Fox, who enlists Bode’s help to investigate the attempted murder of her father, and Sharon’s (Diane Farr) stepfather, Wes Fox (W. Earl Brown), who operates an illegal marijuana business.

Grosse Pointe Garden Society

The comedy-mystery, transplanted from Sundays, puts down roots on Friday nights, hoping it’s not too little too late to blossom in a new time period. The story takes place in two timelines, including a flash-forward several months into the future, when four friends in a garden club are trying to bury the evidence of a death that occurred on the night of a gala. This episode provides a few more clues, while putting Catherine (Aja Naomi King) in the hot seat when police begin questioning her alibi.

Austin City Limits Celebrates 50 Years

There are no limits to the talent that has graced the stage of Austin’s music showcase, recipient of the National Medal of Arts in 2003 and a Peabody in 2011. To mark Austin City Limits’ 50th anniversary, an all-star roster convenes to perform, with Austin-based Jared Padalecki (Walker) and wife Genevieve hosting an eclectic lineup that includes Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin, The Avett Brothers, Indigo Girls, Rufus Wainwright, The Mavericks, Gary Clark, Jr., Leon Bridges and more. The two-hour special features tributes to Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughn, with vintage clips and backstage interviews.

Yellowjackets

I counted at least three “Yikes!” in my notes while watching the penultimate episode of the unhinged thriller’s third season, which follows up on adult Shauna’s (Melanie Lynskey) violent reunion with the grown-up Melissa (Hilary Swank), who’s now living under a different name and married to the daughter of one of their “frog scientist” captives from the wilderness. If that weren’t berserk enough, younger Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) is leading the resistance among the stranded Yellowjackets who refuse to be rescued and are keeping nature guide Kodiak (Joel McHale) and Hannah (Ashley Sutton) as prisoners.

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• NCAA Basketball (7 pm/ET, ESPN): The women’s Final Four kicks off with No. 1 Texas facing No. 1 South Carolina, followed at 9 pm/ET by No. 2 UConn vs. No. 1 UCLA. The championship game airs Sunday.
• RuPaul’s Drag Race (8/7c, MTV): With only one more episode to go before the finale, the remaining queens audition for the live show at Flamingo Las Vegas, with black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross as guest judge.
• NCIS: Sydney (8/7c, CBS): Obsessive fans hit a sour note in the investigation when a U.S. Navy choir singer is killed while performing with a pop star.
• Power Book III: Raising Kanan (8/7c, Starz): Drug-dealing sibs Raq (Patina Miller) and Marvin (London Brown) have a problem: They’re running low on product, and someone’s skimming money.
• The Never Ever Mets (8/7c, OWN): Ta’Rhonda Jones hosts the second season of the reality show where couples who’ve only ever connected online spend three weeks in a deluxe L.A. manse to learn if they’re compatible in person.
• True Crime Watch: On ABC’s 20/20 (9/8c) Deborah Roberts reports on the case of Nathan Carman, found adrift on a life raft in 2016 with his mother Linda lost at sea. What seemed a miraculous rescue took on a more sinister turn when authorities discovered his millionaire grandfather had been murdered three years earlier. Dateline NBC (9/8c) reports on the 2002 double murder of Kansas couple Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness, which took three criminal trials over two decades to sort out.
• Secrets Declassified (10/9c, History): The X-Files’ David Duchovny hosts a docuseries where the truth really is out there in stories of secret government activities, including an alleged UFO attack on a U.S. missile base.
• S.W.A.T. (10/9c, CBS) Sports greats Kenny Smith and Jerry Rice guest-star when the S.W.A.T. team pursues a violent drug dealer after two college football stars are kidnapped and tortured.
• Karma (streaming on Netflix): Squid Game’s Park Hae-soo stars in a twisty Korean thriller trapping six characters in a fateful web after a hit-and-run and cover-up intertwines with a murder plot.