Orange Is the New Black
No, it’s not the fashion industry’s latest directive. Netflix’s latest venture in original programming is a new drama series based on a 2010 memoir by a privileged blond Smith College graduate who spent 15 months in women’s prison for drug crimes she’d committed almost a decade earlier. Created by Jenji Kohan (Weeds), the series stars Taylor Schilling as memoirist Piper Chapman, whose insights on prison life give the series its distinct tang. Available for streaming on Netflix starting July 11
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
The long-running improv show gets a reboot on a network more than four years after it closed shop at ABC. Aisha Tylor, co-host of The Talk, will replace Drew Carey in the emcee chair, but original cast members Wayne Brady, Ryan Stiles, and Colin Mochrie all will once again be creating comedy off the cuff with improvised skits and songs. Tuesday, July 16, at 8 p.m., CW
Drunk History
One of the most popular sketch series from the website FunnyOrDie.com jumps to cable, as various performers each down an inebriating amount of alcohol before recounting an event from history. As the narrators slur and stumble through each anecdote, celebrity actors from Jack Black and Kristen Wiig to Connie Britton and Owen Wilson perform simultaneous re-enactments. At least on the Web, the results are hilarious. Tuesday, July 16, at 10 p.m., Comedy Central
Nazi Mega Weapons: Atlantic Wall
Anticipating that his hold on Europe would eventually be challenged by an Allied invasion, Adolf Hitler in 1942 ordered the construction of a line of defensive fortifications from France’s Atlantic coast all the way into Norway. This in-depth documentary revisits the so-called Atlantic Wall—a series of bunkers, minefields, fences, and fortified artillery emplacements that, despite its formidability, was overcome by Allied forces when they landed on D-Day. Wednesday, July 17, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
The Bridge
Bad things happen at the U.S.-Mexico border in this promising new series. Diane Kruger and Demián Bichir co-star as detectives from different worlds who must work together when a body tied to a serial killer is found on the bridge linking El Paso to Juárez. In Episode 2, an El Paso journalist (Matthew Lillard) gets pulled deeper into the mystery than he was hoping to go. Wednesday, July 17, at 10 p.m., FX
Other highlights
Suits
Patrick J. Adams returns for a third season as a brilliant college dropout working as a lawyer in a top New York firm in this sleeper hit of a legal drama. With guest star Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones).Tuesday, July 16, at 10 p.m., USA
2013 ESPYs
Mad Men’s Jon Hamm hosts the 21st edition of an annual awards event that celebrates the achievements of professional athletes. Wednesday, July 17, at 9 p.m., ESPN
Secrets of Highclere Castle
Here’s your chance to get the real story on the 1,300-year-old castle featured in the PBS drama series Downton Abbey.Sunday, July 21, at 8 p.m., PBS; check local listings
