Party Time on ‘Dutton Ranch,’ ‘Sugar’s New Season, U.S. Plays Again in World Cup, Send in the Indianapolis Clowns

Dutton Ranch

Every good Texas melodrama needs a nasty snake in the grass. Dallas knew it — and reveled in the misdeeds of J.R. Ewing (the late Larry Hagman). In the Yellowstone spinoff Dutton Ranch, the primary spoiler is the no-good Rob-Will Jackson (Jai Courtney), the murderous offspring of 10 Petal matriarch Beulah (Annette Bening), whose 190-year anniversary party is the setting for the black sheep’s return. Few are happy to see him, especially Beulah’s adopted and handpicked successor, Joaquin (Juan Pablo Raba). With a dynastic battle brewing, Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Rip (Cole Hauser) have a stake in the outcome but need to tread carefully. Which isn’t always easy for this combustible couple.

Sugar

A bizarre and moody blend of modern L.A. noir and sci-fi fantasy, this offbeat detective drama returns for a second season, with alien P.I. John Sugar (a sleek Colin Farrell) still cruising around town in his black suits and fancy silver-blue 1966 Corvette Stingray. The gumshoe and film buff is looking for a new gig to take his mind off the isolation he feels, having chosen to stay behind to look for his missing sister while the rest of his type returned to their home planet. Scenes of classic noir movies (The Hustler, 1948’s Road House, and especially The Harder They Fall) pepper the narrative as Sugar ventures into Koreatown for his latest case, involving the search for Ji Moon (Quantum Leap‘s Raymond Lee), the missing brother of a promising young boxer (Jin Ha).

World Cup

Their first match last week reportedly drew a record audience of 18 million, so anticipation is high as the U.S. Men’s National Team returns to the pitch, this time in Seattle, to face Australia. Other matches on a busy day of World Cup action include Scotland vs. Morocco in Boston (6 pm/ET, Fox), Brazil vs. Haiti in Philadelphia (8:30 pm/ET, Fox), and Turkey vs. Paraguay at San Francisco Bay Area (aka Levi’s) Stadium (11 pm/ET, FS1).

Return of the Clowns

An upbeat sports documentary, narrated by ESPN’s baseball analyst Doug Glanville, recounts the vibrant history of the Indianapolis Clowns, renowned during the heyday of baseball’s Negro League for their comedic routines that garnered comparisons to the Harlem Globetrotters. The team gave the legendary Hank Aaron his start before going pro and also made history by hiring female stars, including Toni Stone. Disbanded in 1989 as the last surviving remnant of the Negro League, the Clowns were brought back to life this year as a charter member of the Banana Ball Championship League. The E60 special, commemorating Juneteenth, airs following a game between the Clowns and the Savannah Bananas in Cincinnati (7 pm/ET).

Star City

A pivotal episode of the For All Mankind spinoff, set within the Soviet space program in the Cold War 1970s, depicts the fallout of fledgling KGB spy Irina’s (Agnes O’Casey) discovery of the identity of the mole who’s been leaking secrets from within Star City. Conflicted as ever, Irina desperately tries to protect an innocent party who’s in danger of being dragged down with the traitor. And the revelation could threaten the Chief Designer’s (Rhys Ifans) secret plans to send a manned probe to Venus.

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• The Clash of Nations: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling (8/7c, History Channel): A documentary revisits the historic boxing bouts between Joe Louis, the American who emerged from the Jim Crow South, and German Max Schmeling. Their rematch in 1938 came to symbolize the conflict between democracy and the fascist Nazi regime in the buildup to World War II.
• 20/20 (9/8c, ABC): Co-anchor Deborah Roberts updates a report on the 2008 kidnapping and murder of young Florida mom Denise Amber Lee and the execution in March of her convicted killer, Michael King. The segment includes new interviews with Denise’s husband and son.
• Dateline NBC (10/9c, NBC): Keith Morrison reports on the 2001 murder of Ohio mom Regina Hacks, discovered in her submerged car at the bottom of a pond, a case that went unsolved for more than two decades until a witness finally came forward.

ON THE STREAM:

• Voicemails for Isabelle (streaming on Netflix): A poignantly offbeat romcom stars Zoey Deutch as Jill, whose confessional voicemails to her late sister Isabelle are picked up and listened to by Wes (Nick Robinson), who has been assigned Isabelle’s old number. “This is like a sick reboot of You’ve Got Mail,” says Wes’s friend Andy (Grey’s Anatomy‘s Harry Shum Jr.) as Wes is drawn to Jill, but initially puts off telling her how.
• Stepfather (streaming on Tubi): Not an official remake, but there are echoes of 1987’s cult classic The Stepfather in this melodrama starring Taye Diggs as a man whose obsessive quest for the “perfect” family endangers his latest wife, Asia (Tamar Braxton), and her daughters.
• Cape Fear (streaming on Apple TV): The creepy remake of the 1991 and 1962 thriller complicates the cat-and-mouse game of ex-con Max Cady (Javier Bardem) and his former attorney Anna (Amy Adams) when she enlists his help to exonerate a death-row prisoner. Also on Apple TV: the finale of the Israeli drama Unconditional.