The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching
The Captain
Across his 20-year career as a New York Yankee, Derek Jeter embodied the “play the game the right way” ethos. A new, seven-part documentary revisits Jeter’s remarkable baseball journey, examining how he helped lead the Bronx Bombers back to glory in his rookie year and then anchored a dynastic two-decade run. Guarded but loved, cool but driven, he was both the face of a storied franchise and unknowable—until now. Begins Monday, July 18, at 10 p.m., ESPN
Aftershock
In today’s America, Black women are three times more likely than white women to die as a result of pregnancy. This powerful documentary highlights the crisis by focusing on the stories of two women who delivered children under hospital care but didn’t survive. The fathers of the two surviving infants have fought back, helping to raise awareness about an enduring national epidemic. Available Tuesday, July 19, Hulu
The Last Movie Stars
Has there ever been a cooler Hollywood couple than Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward? The pair return to vivid life in this six-part documentary directed by Ethan Hawke. Hawke had a stack of interview transcripts to draw from, all produced when Newman was working on a late-in-life memoir that he never finished. When the series weaves in those transcripts, George Clooney reads Newman’s recollections and Laura Linney reads Woodward’s. Available Thursday, July 21, HBO Max
Anything’s Possible
Singer, actor, and fashion icon Billy Porter adds to his list of talents by making his directorial debut with this coming-of-age rom-com. Newcomer Eva Reign stars as Kelsa, a confident trans high school student who is swept somewhat off her feet when a handsome classmate, played by Abubakr Ali, confesses having a crush on her. Hamilton’s Renée Elise Goldsberry co-stars as Kelsa’s mother. Available Friday, July 22, Amazon Prime
The Gray Man
No wonder Netflix spent a record $200 million on this cat-and-mouse thriller. There won’t be another action movie this summer that pits Ryan Gosling against Chris Evans in wild set pieces engineered by frequent Marvel directors the Russo brothers. Gosling plays a former CIA assassin who’s now being hunted by Evans, a sadistic former agency ally. Ana de Armas, Billy Bob Thornton, and Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page add star power in supporting roles. Available Friday, July 22, Netflix
Other highlights The 2022 ESPYs
Stephen Curry, the MVP of the recent NBA Finals, hosts ESPN’s annual awards show on a night when he, Chloe Kim, and Candace Parker will be among the athletes vying for recognition of their contributions to sports. Wednesday, July 20, at 8 p.m., ABC
Expedition With Steve Backshall
Backshall, a British adventurer, continues his exploration of Earth’s unexplored places in Kyrgyzstan, where he searches the Tien Shan mountains for an undiscovered population of snow leopards. Wednesday, July 20, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
American Horror Stories
Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story spin-off, which delivers its frights in stand-alone episodes, returns for a second season. Available Thursday, July 21, Hulu