What’s on TV This Week: The VMAs, 'The Boys,' 'Mulan'

By Matt CooperListings Coordinator

Aug. 28, 2020 9:44 AM PT

SUNDAY

“Summer Under the Stars” continues with a salute to Charlton Heston that includes the actor opposite Orson Welles and Janet Leigh in Welles’ 1958 crime fable “Touch of Evil.” 5 p.m. TCM

Host Kamau Bell examines L.A.’s homelessness crisis in the second of two season-ending episodes of “United Shades of America.” 6 and 7 p.m. CNN

The lads are going to Kathmandu — that’s really, really where they’re going to — on a very special episode of the car-centric series “Top Gear.” 8 p.m. BBC America

Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Korean boy band BTS (pause for screaming) are among the performers slated for the “2020 MTV Video Music Awards.” Keke Palmer hosts. 8 p.m. MTV; also the CW, BET, CMT, Comedy Central, Logo, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land, VH1

The Baeumlers from “Renovation Island” head home to Canada for their new home-renovation series “Renovation Inc.” 8 p.m. HGTV

Poison ivy is the least of their worries in the new thriller “Secrets in the Woods.” With Brittany Underwood and Taylor Frey. 8 p.m. Lifetime

Hell hath no fury like a disparate group of women swindled by the same dastardly con man in the new four-part true-crime series “Love Fraud.” 9 p.m. Showtime

MONDAY

The Princess of Wales is remembered in the special “Diana: In Her Own Words” while Elizabeth II is profiled in “Being the Queen.” 7 and 9 p.m. National Geographic

Let the estimable David Attenborough be your guide to the wonders of nature in his latest special, “Planet Earth: A Celebration.” 8 p.m. AMC, BBC America, IFC, SundanceTV

TUESDAY

Lupita Nyong’o, Tiffany Haddish and ballerina Misty Copeland are among the stars reading children’s books by authors of color in the new educational series “Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices.” Anytime, Netflix

You’re the baby now in the new interactive special “The Boss Baby: Get That Baby!” based on the TV series based on the 2017 animated comedy. Anytime, Netflix

A standup comedian delivers the same jokes in two languages — English and Español — in the twin specials “Felipe Esparza: Bad Decisions” and “Felipe Esparza: Malas Decisiones.” Anytime, Netflix

The new series “Women Make Film: A New Road Through Cinema” shines a light on female filmmakers around the world from the earliest days of the art form through the present. 5 and 7:45 p.m. TCM

An ER doctor (Hamza Haq) from war-torn Syria plies his trade in Canada in the imported medical drama “Transplant.” With John Hannah. 10 p.m. NBC

WEDNESDAY

The new culinary spinoff “Chef’s Table: BBQ” travels the world in search of the smokiest, sauciest, rib-stickingest barbecue. Anytime, Netflix

The Atlanta-set sitcom “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” returns after a years-long layoff. With LaVan Davis and Cassi Davis Patton. 8 and 8:30 p.m. BET

Find out who is “Tough as Nails” as this reality competition ends its first season. Phil Keoghan (“The Amazing Race”) is the host. 9 p.m. CBS

Grammy-winning vocalist Dianne Reeves and sax man Kamasi Washington are among the jazz greats performing on a new episode of “In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl.” 9 p.m. KCET

An unemployed family man gets a gig helping his granddad run an old folks’ home in the new comedy “Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living.” With Na’im Lynn and J. Anthony Brown. 9 and 9:30 p.m. BET

THURSDAY

After two seasons on NBC, the campus comedy “A.P. Bio” returns as a streaming series. Glenn Howerton and Patton Oswalt star. Anytime, Peacock

“New Girl’s” Damon Wayans Jr. hires Rachel Leigh Cook (“She’s All That”) to sue a dating website in the new rom-com “Love, Guaranteed.” With Heather Graham. Anytime, Netflix

Do androids dream of electric children? The answer lies in “Raised by Wolves,” a new post-apocalyptic sci-fi series from “Blade Runner” director Ridley Scott. With Travis Fimmel (“Vikings”) and Amanda Collin. Anytime, HBO Max

A Canadian couple probably never should have moved to that quiet little town in New Zealand in the mystery drama “The Sounds.” With Rachelle Lefevre (“Under the Dome”). Anytime, Acorn TV

He’s same the Swedish detective you know and love, only younger and not yet a detective, in the imported prequel “Young Wallander.” With Adam Pålsson. Anytime, Netflix

Dermatologist Dr. Sandra Lee talks socially distanced patients through doing the icky part themselves in the new quarantine-era spinoff “Dr. Pimple Popper: Before the Pop.” 10 p.m. TLC

It’s like Christmas in September when the workplace comedy “Tacoma FD” concludes its second season with a special holiday episode. 10 p.m. truTV

FRIDAY

Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank captains an international mission to Mars in the new sci-fi series “Away.” Josh Charles (“The Good Wife”) also stars. Anytime, Netflix

“The Boys” are back to give phony-baloney superheroes more of what for in a second season of this satirical action comedy. With Karl Urban, Karen Fukuhara and Antony Starr. Anytime, Amazon Prime

A young Chinese woman joins the imperial army disguised as a man in the live-action remake of the animated 2004 Disney film “Mulan.” With Liu Yifei, Gong Li, Jet Li, Jason Scott Lee and Donnie Yen. Anytime Disney+

“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” thinks a young woman who joins her boyfriend on a road trip to meet his family in writer-director Charlie Kaufman’s new psychological drama. With Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons, David Thewlis and Toni Collette. Anytime, Netflix

A four-night Labor Day weekend festival of classic music docs kicks off with 1964’s “The T.A.M.I. Show” featuring James Brown, Chuck Berry, the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, the Supremes and Marvin Gaye. 5 p.m. TCM

Welcome to “Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island.” The 1970s TV series that starred Ricardo Montalban gets a twisted update in this 2019 thriller. With Michael Peña, Maggie Q and Lucy Hale. 8 p.m. Starz

SATURDAY

Firefighters babysit, hilarity does not ensue, in the 2019 comedy “Playing With Fire.” With John Cena, John Leguizamo and Keegan-Michael Key. 8 p.m. Epix

Will Smith is a suave secret agent and “Spider-Man’s” Tom Holland is the tech geek who turns him into a pigeon in the animated 2019 comedy “Spies in Disguise.” 8 p.m. HBO

“Psych’s” Dulé Hill and “Ballers’” Jazmyn Simon are among the celebrity couples sharing their relationship secrets in a third season of “Black Love.” 9 and 10 p.m. OWN

“Black Panther’s” Chadwick Boseman searches the vastness of Manhattan for a pair of suspected cop killers in the 2019 crime drama “21 Bridges.” With Taylor Kitsch, Sienna Miller, Keith David and J. K. Simmons. 9 p.m. Showtime