It’s an all hands on deck day as a pair of Screen Scholar favorites comes back, a video game from the 1990s finally comes to cinematic (well, serial TV) life, and a megachurch is toppled by its own corruption–and documentarians are there!

NAVANI’S PICK:
Atlanta [FX, 10p]
Finally, the crew is all back together and we continue on the journey of “Earn” (Donald Glover) attempting to earn respect, money, a career… housing even. The stakes are higher now with Paper Boi’s image and career in the spotlight. The highly anticipated season we’ve been looking forward to is the first one that doesn’t actually take place in Atlanta. The show will pick up right where we left off, Earn sliding through the airport security by the skin of his teeth and the crew setting off for Paper Boi’s first international tour. Could it be that Earn is finally learning what it takes to be in this game? Will Al keep him as manager in Europe? Will he start being worthy of Van? Only time will tell. But I’m most looking forward to the sage wisdom of Darius – we have four years of conspiracy theories to catch up on after all. 

BRAD’S PICK:
Halo [Paramount+]
Halo is finally here! It’s been on development hall at Least since around 2014 when a live action show was going to be the linchpin of the Microsoft streaming network that never happened. Well it’s found a new home on paramount+. Technology and special effects are better and cheaper than it even was in 2014 so maybe it was good to wait. This show looks beautiful and this may just be the adaptation that Master Chief deserves.

JASON’S PICK:
Starstruck [HBO Max]
Rose Matafeo is back for a second season of awkwardness and romance as she becomes closer and more freaked out about her life choice to remain in London and see where it goes with her whirlwind fling with sweet A-list actor Tom (Nikesh Patel). It’s one of the most genuinely charming shows, reflecting its creator and star.

KATHERINE’S PICK:
HillSong: A Megachurch Exposed [Discovery+]
This “explosive” three-part miniseries features interviews with former members, reporters, and experts who have a lot to say about the controversial megachurch.

FIONA’S PICK:
Top Chef [Bravo, 8p]
Last week the chefs created dishes for their own Night Market, each tasked with a specific Asian cuisine. There were triumphs and flops and Sam was sent home for serving raw grilled potatoes. This week the chefs are competing in teams of two in an elimination challenge inspired by Wylie Dufresne. The chefs must create two dishes that look almost identical but taste completely different. It’s a double elimination week and the pressure is on. 

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE:

• Ava Duvernay is everywhere, including the documentary One Perfect Shot–which the iconic director narrates and produces, inviting other iconic directors to discuss what personal filmic moment left them most satisfied with their craft.
• A balding and unassuming 40-ish businessman, John Ruffo would seem the last person to lead the cops on a chase. However, in the 1990s, Ruffo defrauded banks of over 350 million dollars and after his sentencing, gathered up enough money to survive, left on a jet plane, and 23 years later, the FBI still cannot trace what has happened to him. The Hulu mini-series Have You Seen This Man? takes a sometimes comic, sometimes grave look at one of the longest fugitives from justice.
• The Japanese poetry-tinged romantic drama Love Like the Falling Petals follows Haruto as he falls in love with Misaki, a woman with a fatal aging disease. It’s on Netflix today.
• With all the Q Anon (and Republican Senators) co-opting of it, it’s almost easy to forget that sex trafficking is a legitimate horror and problem (just not in the way the previously mentioned groups frame it). HBO Max digs deep into it with the docu-series Traffickers: Inside the Golden Triangle.