Between streaming and cable, there is a seemingly endless variety of things to watch. Here is a selection of TV shows and specials that are airing or streaming this week, July 21-27. Details and times are subject to change.
A true-crime safari and life in an emergency room.
In September 2016, Bianca and Larry Rudolph, who were both big game hunters, went to Zambia hoping to hunt a leopard. On the morning of Oct. 11, when the couple were supposed to leave their hunting camp, Bianca was shot in the chest with a gun. The new three-part documentary series "Trophy Wife: Murder on Safari," examines the events leading up to her death and the trial, which found Larry guilty of murder and mail fraud; he was sentenced to life in prison. The documentary features interviews from prison with Larry, who has maintained his innocence. Streaming Monday on Hulu.
"The Pitt," the HBO drama following doctors in a Pittsburgh hospital emergency room, just received 13 Emmy nominations, but the new documentary series "Critical: Between Life and Death" is a real look at one of London's emergency departments. The city's Major Trauma System treats 12,000 patients with the most critical of injuries each year, and the show follows doctors as they decide how best to treat their patients and the journeys of those receiving medical care. Streaming Wednesday on Netflix.
Two novel adaptations, one modern, the other historical.
A novel by May Cobb -- "The Hunting Wives" -- is getting a screen adaptation. In the show, Sophie (Brittany Snow) leaves her big city life and job in Chicago to move to East Texas with her husband and son. While there, she meets Margo Banks (Malin Akerman), a member of the titular hunting wives who party hard and spend their nights doing target practice. When a body is discovered near where the clique hangs out, Sophie is suddenly part of a murder investigation. Streaming Monday on Netflix.
The new historical series "Washington Black" is also an adaptation from a novel, this one by Esi Edugyan about 19th-century Barbados. The story follows Washington Black, a.k.a. Wash, as an 11-year-old and as he grows up. (Eddie Karanja plays the young version of Wash; Ernest Kingsley Jr. plays the adult.) He is forced to flee a sugar plantation he was raised on after witnessing a horrific death. From there, he finds himself on a worldwide adventure through the Caribbean, the Arctic and in London, where he tries to find a sense of freedom and independence. Sterling K. Brown also stars. Streaming Wednesday on Hulu.
It's all about the music.
Some of the biggest hits on the Billboard Top 100 aren't actually written by the artists who sing them. In the new show "Hitmakers" -- part documentary, part reality show -- the people who write or produce some top songs (including BTS's "Butter," Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next" and Beyoncé's "Cuff It") meet at a retreat, where they are tasked with writing songs for John Legend, Shaboozey and Blackpink. Streaming Thursday on Netflix.
The first part of "Billy Joel: And So It Goes," released earlier this month, gets into the nitty-gritty of Joel's personal life, with the singer admitting to the affair he had with his bandmate's wife and sharing about his dangerous drinking and motorcycle-riding habits. The second part is set to be released this week, and it is unclear if it will address Joel's recent diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus, which caused him to cancel this latest tour. Friday at 8 p.m. on HBO and streaming on Max.
LL Cool J is taking us on a journey through music history in the documentary series "Hip Hop Was Born Here." In five episodes, Big Daddy Kane, Doug E. Fresh, Method Man and Rev Run bring viewers to the neighborhoods all over the country while Cool J runs through some of the genre's biggest moments. Streaming Wednesday on Paramount+.
"The Voice" or "American Idol" promote the solo careers of singers. But the series "Building the Band" encourages the 50 contestants to form six groups, with a cash prize of $500,000 for the winning band -- and this week it is wrapping up. AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys is host, and the judges Nicole Scherzinger, Kelly Rowland and Liam Payne were in their own groups (the Pussycat Dolls, Destiny's Child and One Direction, of course). The finale of the show is quite bittersweet because it is the last project Payne did before he died unexpectedly last October at age 31 in Buenos Aires. The network received permission from Payne's family to air the show. Streaming Wednesday on Netflix.