‘Adults,’ ‘Big Brother’ Hits 1000, New Seasons of ‘Leanne’ and ‘Undeclared War’

Adults

They’re not getting older, or wiser, just sillier. Fans of the raunchy, raucous Friends-for-a-new-millennium wouldn’t have it any other way. The gang of five — Samir (Malik Elassal), Billie (Lucy Freyer), Issa (Amita Rao), Anton (Owen Thiele) and Paul Baker (Jack Innanen) — are still happily camped out (and we do mean camp) in Season 2 at the family home of Samir while his parents are away. The group’s merrily mirthful misadventures play out as farces of staggering self-absorption and immaturity, starting with Paul Baker’s secret double life being exposed while Billie desperately tries to scrub an embarrassing photo from her social-media footprint. (Curb Your Enthusiasm‘s Susie Essman has a memorable cameo.) Stranger Things‘ Gaten Matarazzo appears in the second episode when Billie and Samir track down the younger versions of themselves who inherited their fake IDs. The entire eight-episode season can be streamed on Hulu, with two episodes a week airing on FXX. The adult way to watch would be to space them out so the wait for a potential Season 3 wouldn’t be so long and painful. So much for that idea.

Big Brother

A summer guilty pleasure since the dawn of a new century, the pioneering reality competition marks its milestone 1,000th episode by bringing the party inside. Fan-favorite former houseguests are expected to drop by as host Julie Chen Moonves replays some of the most memorable moments over 28 seasons. They’re also promising the biggest twist of the season and, this being Thursday, a live eviction.

Leanne

This agreeable sitcom from Chuck Lorre, starring Tennessee-bred comedian Leanne Morgan, would be right at home on CBS — and I mean that as a compliment. It often feels like a companion piece to Mom, sharing its tart sensibility and wry empathy for women of a certain age. As Season 2 opens, Knoxville’s unhappily single Leanne is pushing 60 and coping with a mom and dad (the very funny Celia Weston and Blake Clark) who are having more than their share of senior moments. As she and sister Carol (the invaluable Kristen Johnston) debate how to parent their parents, Leanne’s ex (The Drew Carey Show alum Ryan Stiles) is having an existential meltdown, complicating Leanne’s relationship with a handsome FBI agent (Tim Daly). Tim’s sister Tyne is among the roster of illustrious guest stars, including country star Lainey Wilson and sitcom pros Jaime Pressly (Mom) and Billy Gardell (Mike & Molly).

The Undeclared War

The battleground is digital, couched in impenetrable code, in this taut, fast-paced espionage thriller from the U.K., now in its second season (six episodes available for a spellbinding binge). Having barely fought off a Russian cyberattack in the first season, GCHQ (Government Communication Headquarters) head of operations Danny Patrick (Mission: Impossible‘s Simon Pegg) careens from crisis to crisis when the playing field extends to China and his Malware division discovers a mole in their midst. Office politics are just as treacherous, when his nemesis Richard Marston (Ed Stoppard) is appointed Foreign Secretary and attaches a military “Rapid Response” unit to GCHQ led by gung-ho Lt. Col. Roz Cavendish (Dept. Q‘s Chloe Pirrie).

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

After last week’s whimsical puppet escapade, the sci-fi adventure gets deadly serious when the Enterprise is sucked into an inexorable wormhole slipstream, hurtling the disabled ship towards potential oblivion. “How do we find a way out of this nightmare with no eyes?” frets overwhelmed engineer Scotty (Martin Quinn), while in the sick bay, nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) tends to a grievously injured Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), whose dilemma recalls a classic episode of Homicide: Life on the Street.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• Jeopardy! Masters (8/7c, ABC): After the first two nights, there’s no clear front-runner as the tournament’s quarterfinals continue, taking the top players one step closer to next week’s semifinals.
• Monsters of God (9/8c, HBO): In the penultimate episode of the true-crime docuseries, U.S. authorities launch “Operation Chameleon” as the illegal trade in rare reptiles takes a new twist with genetically modified animals.
• Project Runway (10/9c, Freeform): Niecy Nash-Betts, who appeared on Season 10 of Dancing With the Stars, is guest judge when the designers create looks that move for Dancing pros and guest models Brandon Armstrong, Emma Slater, Ezra Sosa, Britt Stewart, Alan Bersten, Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson.

ON THE STREAM: