Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is getting plenty of exposure this weekend—as the first Master of Ceremonies of Discovery’s Shark Week, now in its 34th summer, and as the subject of A&E’s WWE Rivals, spotlighting his battles with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Emmy and Oscar winner Allison Janney traces her family’s past on NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? Secrets are revealed in the finale of PBS’s Hotel Portofino. Ken Jennings moonlights from Jeopardy! as a contestant on The $100,000 Pyramid.
Shark Week
SUNDAY: Just when you thought it was safe to chill on the sofa… along comes the 34th season of Discovery’s brand-defining Shark Week programming stunt, for the first time featuring a Master of Ceremonies: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, filming his introductions from his home state of Hawaii. The centerpiece of Sunday’s official opening night is a return visit from the Jackass crew in Jackass Shark Week 2.0 (9/8c), with Johnny Knoxville joining his buds Chris Pontius, Wee Man, Jasper, Dark Shark and Zach Holmes on a prank-filled mission to get their pal Poopies over his fear of sharks. Other Sunday night titles include Great White Battleground (8/7c), set in South Africa, and Great White Open Ocean (10:30/9:30c).
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WWE Rivals
SUNDAY: The Rock is back, in vintage form, in the new series profiling pro wrestling’s greatest feuds—in this episode, The Rock’s legendary rivalry with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, with classic clips and taped interviews reliving the battles that propelled them to the main card of three WrestleManias. Actor Freddie Prinze Jr., a former WWE writer, leads a roundtable of experts, sharing how his grandmother turned on The Rock for good after he turned corporate heel in 1998. Some grudges never heal.
Scott Eisen/NBC
Who Do You Think You Are?
SUNDAY: Winner of seven Emmys (including multiple wins for The West Wing and Mom) and an Oscar, Allison Janney learns her roots go deep in American history as the latest subject of the award-winning genealogy series. She traces her maternal family tree back to the 1600s, with ancestors who were among America’s first British settlers.
PBS
Hotel Portofino
SUNDAY: The soapy 1920s period drama ends its first season with secrets revealed, including the mystery of the missing heirloom. The love triangle between hotel owner Bella’s (Natascha McElhone) son Lucian (Oliver Dench), his intended fiancé Rose (Claude Scott-Mitchell) and nanny Constance (Louisa Binder) becomes more complicated when a locket is discovered shedding light on Constance’s past. A second season has been ordered.
ABC
The $100,000 Pyramid
SUNDAY: We’ll take punny categories for $800—oops, wrong show. An understandable mistake, given that Jeopardy! co-host Ken Jennings is moonlighting as a contestant on the revered word-association game, hosted by Michael Strahan. Jennings matches wits with campy TV personality Ross Mathews in the first round, followed by a match-up of the flamboyant RuPaul vs. original Queer Eye maven Carson Kressley.
Inside Weekend TV:
- Christmas in Toyland (Saturday, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel): One way to escape the midsummer heat wave is to wallow in the latest off-season Hallmark holiday movie. Toyland stars Glee’s Vanessa Lengies as a corporate data analyst who works with a toy store manager (Jesse Hutch) in an effort to keep brick-and-mortar toy stores alive. (Now don’t you feel guilty for doing your shopping online?)
- Black Love (Saturday, 10/9c, OWN): The docuseries’ sixth and final season celebrates real-life love stories, with celebrities including comedian JB Smoove and Star Trek: Discovery’s Sonequa Martin-Green and their mates in the mix.
- Big Brother (Sunday, 8/7c, CBS): Thursday’s Jan. 6 hearings in prime time bumped the weekly eviction extravaganza to Sunday, where it’s part of an expanded two-hour episode.
- Ugliest House in America: Ugly in Paradise (Sunday, 8/7c, HGTV): Good Girls star Retta is back throwing shade on eyesore properties in gorgeous settings, with the absolute worst home earning a $150,000 renovation from HGTV star Alison Victoria. Followed by a new season of Renovation Island (9/8c).
- Grantchester (Sunday, 9/8c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): When a vagrant is found dead in front of former curate Leonard’s (Al Weaver) café, Geordie (Robson Green) suspects this may be part of a pattern and that someone’s targeting the village’s homeless population.
- Women Who Rock (Sunday, 9/8c, Epix): The musical docuseries moves into the 1980s and ’90s, spotlighting an eclectic wave of breakout artists including Pat Benatar, Sheila E., Natalie Merchant, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, Courtney Love, Tori Amos and Alanis Morrisette.
- 90 Day Fiancé: UK (Sunday, streaming on discovery+): The hit reality franchise goes across the pond for its first season in Great Britain, with eight Brits managing long-distance relationships for better or worse.