What’s on TV This Week: ‘The Simpsons,’ ‘Watchmen,’ the World Series and more

SUNDAY

Fareed Zakaria hosts the new special “Scheme and Scandal: Inside the College Admissions Crisis.” 5 and 8 p.m. CNN

“Selma’s” David Oyelowo is interviewed by “Glee’s” Jane Lynch on a new “Inside the Actors Studio.” 7 p.m. Ovation

“The Simpsons” hits the 666-episode mark with “Treehouse of Horror XXX,” the latest edition of the animated series’ annual Halloween episode. 8 p.m. Fox

Explorer Robert Ballard scours the Pacific for clues to the fate of famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart in in the new docu-special “Expedition Amelia.” 8 p.m. National Geographic Channel

Who watches the “Watchmen”? Find out in this new drama series inspired by the graphic novel about superheroes, masked vigilantes and those who hate them. With Don Johnson, Jeremy Irons, Jean Smart and Regina King. 9 p.m. HBO; repeats at 10 p.m.

“Family Guy” pokes fun at its longtime home network’s recent acquisition in the new episode “Disney’s The Reboot.” 9:30 p.m. Fox

The case against an Army officer serving a 19-year murder sentence for actions on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2012 is reviewed in the new true crime series “Leavenworth.” 9:30 p.m. Starz; repeats at 10:25 and 11:20 p.m.

Salt-N-Pepa, Da Brat and MC Lyte are among the trailblazing female rappers talking about making it in a man’s game on a new “E! True Hollywood Story.” 10 p.m. E!

The debut installment of “Lost Cities With Albert Lin” goes in search of a Templar stronghold in Israel dating to the Crusades. 10 p.m. National Geographic Channel; also 9 p.m. Mon.

Kendrick Lamar’s protest anthem “Alright” is discussed on a new “Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America.” 12:16 a.m. AMC

MONDAY

Courageous canines collect kudos at the “2019 American Humane Hero Dog Awards” hosted by Beth Stern and James Denton. Followed by “The Love of Dogs Benefit Concert” from Nashville. 8 and 10 p.m. Hallmark Channel

Some of HGTV’s top female stars go head-to-head in the home-renovation game in the new series “Rock the Block.” Drew Scott hosts. 9 and 10 p.m. HGTV

The new documentary “The River and the Wall” weighs the potential impact of President Trump’s long-sought border wall on flora and fauna on both sides of U.S.-Mexico border. 9 p.m. Starz

A female-led squad of reformers tries to change how the criminal justice system treats women caught up in the sex trade in the documentary “Blowin’ Up” on a new “POV.” 10 p.m. KOCE

Helen Mirren is “Catherine the Great” — that’s Her Imperial Majesty the Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias to you, peasant — in this four-part historical drama. With Jason Clarke. 10 p.m. HBO; repeats at 11 p.m.

TUESDAY

A former “SNL” and “Parks and Rec” standout returns in her very own stand-up special, “Jenny Slate: Stage Fright.” Anytime, Netflix

Baseball’s top two teams take the field as the “2019 World Series” gets underway in a city not near you. 5 p.m. Fox; also Wed., Fri., Sat.

The political and cultural divisions stoked by President Trump’s immigration policies are explored in “Zero Tolerance” on a new “Frontline.” 10 p.m. KOCE

WEDNESDAY

The new foodie travelogue “Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Featuring David Chang” finds the celebrity chef chowing down with famous faces like Chrissy Teigen and Seth Rogen. Anytime, Netflix

She’s your number-one fan: Lizzie Caplan play a younger version of Oscar winner Kathy Bates’ sadistic nurse from the 1990 film “Misery” in a second season of the Stephen King horror anthology “Castle Rock.” Anytime, Hulu

Our fine feathered friends strut their stuff in the new nature documentary “Dancing with the Birds.” Anytime, Netflix

An injured African lioness abandoned by her pride does her best to care for her cubs in the debut installment of the three-part series “Okavango: River of Dreams” on a new “Nature.” 8 p.m. KOCE

The rise of the self-driving car — which, given this writer’s 90-minute commute each way to our new offices in El Segundo, can’t come fast enough — is examined a new “Nova.” 9 p.m. KOCE

A new First Family takes up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in the soapy new drama “Tyler Perry’s The Oval.” With Ed Quinn and Kron Moore. 9 p.m. BET

The new four-part series “Life From Above” offers a satellite’s-eye view of our ever-changing planet. 10 p.m. KOCE

All the single ladies: “Tyler Perry’s Sistas” are doin’ it for themselves in this new drama. With KJ Smith, Mignon Von and Ebony Obsidian. 10 p.m. BET

THURSDAY

Teens take on zombies, mutated creatures and each other in “Daybreak,” a new horror-comedy series set in a post-apocalyptic SoCal. With Colin Ford, Matthew Broderick and Alyvia Alyn Lind. Anytime, Netflix

They’re all rev’d up and ready to go in “Saudi Women’s Driving School,” a new documentary about female drivers in Saudi Arabia exercising their recently granted right to get behind the wheel. 9 p.m. HBO

FRIDAY

Neigh-sayer: Will Arnett is back as the voice of “BoJack Horseman” as this animated comedy returns with the first half of its sixth and final season. Anytime, Netflix

Eddie Murphy portrays off-color comic turned 1970s blaxploitation star Rudy Ray Moore in the 2019 bio-pic “Dolemite Is My Name.” Anytime, Netflix

Alec Baldwin, Richard Gere, et al., pay tribute to beloved acting teacher and theater producer Wynn Handman in the new bio-doc “It Takes a Lunatic.” Anytime, Netflix

Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin are back in a second season of the L.A.-set comedy “The Kominsky Method.” Anytime, Netflix

A country music star (Megan Hilty, “Smash”) makes a return visit to her Tennessee hometown in the new TV movie “Sweet Mountain Christmas.” 8 p.m. Lifetime

You’ll be seeing red, and lots of it, when a new “American Masters” remembers pioneering abstract-expressionist painter Mark Rothko. 9 p.m. KOCE

Veterans set their wartime experiences to music, with an assist from professional songwriters, in the new special “Songwriting With Soldiers.” 10 p.m. KOCE

SATURDAY

An interior designer hooks up with a hunky client in the new TV movie “Christmas Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses.” With Jill Wagner and Matthew Davis. 8 p.m. Hallmark Channel

“Greta” is a just a lonely, harmless widow — or is she? — in director Neil Jordan’s 2018 thriller. With Isabelle Huppert and Chloë Grace Moretz. 8 p.m. HBO

Dueling pianists hit the highway in the new holiday romance “The Road Home for Christmas.” With Marla Sokoloff, Rob Mayes and Marie Osmond. 8 p.m. Lifetime

Primatologist Jane Goodall, philanthropist Melinda Gates and journalist Martha Raddatz are among the trailblazers saluted in the new special “Women of Impact: Changing the World.” 10 p.m. National Geographic Channel

Weekly TV Listings Oct. 20 - 26

Weekly TV Listings Oct. 20 - 26

Oct. 18, 2019