Resurrecting Dexter, Remembering David Lynch, ‘Murderbot’ Finale, Great American Recipe

Seems you can’t keep a good serial killer (of bad people) down. Last we saw Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) in the 2021-22 New Blood spinoff, he had been shot, presumed killed, by his own son Harrison (Jack Alcott). But that was then. Waking from a 10-week coma, haunted by ghosts of his past — especially his father figure/mentor Harry (James Remar) — Dexter gathers his strength to search for Harrison, who’s relocated to New York City. The kid still carries remnants of his dad’s “dark passenger” with him — which isn’t great news for an especially loathsome guest at the hotel where Harrison toils (and secretly sleeps). The season launches with two episodes, airing on Showtime on Sunday at 8/7c and 9/8c. 

David Lynch, who died in January at 78 and is celebrated as one of the most unconventional visionaries in film (and TV) history, gets an evening-long tribute on TCM, starting with his most accessible and only G-rated picture: 1999’s The Straight Story, about an elderly WWII vet (Richard Farnsworth) who takes a slow road trip aboard a John Deere tractor to reunite with his brother. The rest of the lineup veers more into nightmare territory, with 1986’s Blue Velvet (10/9c), 1990’s Wild at Heart (12:15 am/11:15c), the 1992 prequel Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (2:30 am/1:30c) and the ultimate midnight movie at 5 am/4c, Eraserhead. 

The season finale of the terrific sci-fi comedy presents an existential crisis for Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård) in the wake of the bot’s heroic actions. Rebooted and reset, it may not even remember its former clients, who are fighting back against Corporation Rim’s cover-up of the incidents on the planet. They also want their Murderbot back, despite it being company property. For fans of much more serious science fiction, Apple TV+ launches a third season of the lavish adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation, introducing a new antagonist in the sinister pirate known as the Mule (Pilou Asbæk).

Today’s Al Roker, a seasoned home cook in his off time, guests on the Season 4 premiere of the uplifting cooking competition where American home cooks reveal their specialties, often influenced by their heritage. This season, the styles range from Bangladeshi to Belizean, Puerto Rican, Filipino, Thai, Afghan, and Cajun — enough to make anyone’s mouth water. Alejandra Ramos returns as host, with a regular panel of judges, including chef/restaurateurs Tiffany Derry and Timothy Hollingsworth, and Splendid Table host Francis Lam.

Setting up the weekend’s grand finale, four of the top men’s tennis players face off at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. First up, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz plays the last American standing, No. 5 Taylor Fritz. Then No. 1 Jannik Sinner takes on the winningest player of all, No. 5 Novak Djokovic. The women’s final airs Saturday, the men on Sunday.

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

ON THE STREAM:

• One Night in Idaho: The College Murders (streaming on Prime Video): A timely, four-part, true-crime docuseries explores the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students, focusing on the families and friends of the young victims. 
• The Wild Ones (streaming on Apple TV+): A six-part wildlife series tracks a trio of filmmakers and wildlife experts on a mission to find and film endangered species, including tigers in Malaysia, Gobi bears in the Mongolian desert, rhinos on Java, gorillas in Gabon, and whales in the North Atlantic. 
• Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Destination Wedding (streaming on Netflix): Madea (Perry) and her fractious family are off to the Bahamas for Tiffany’s insta-wedding to a rapper she met on a yacht. Will the island ever be the same? 
• Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 3 (8 pm/ET, streaming on Netflix): The rematch of Taylor and Serrano headlines an all-women’s boxing event from Madison Square Garden.
• Operation: Aunties (streaming on ALLBLK): Melissa De Sousa stars in a thriller as a professor and blockchain expert who uncovers a dark-web trafficking ring, enlisting her retired detective bestie (Tisha Campbell) and tech-genius niece (Amiyah Scott) to help take them down.
• Last Cowboy Standing (streaming on Fox Nation): A second season of the reality competition corrals eight amateur bull riders hoping to make it into the pro circuit.
• Drop (streaming on Peacock): A thriller making its streaming debut stars Meghann Fahy (The White Lotus) as a widowed mom whose first date turns upside down when an unknown caller threatens her family unless she kills her date (1923’s Brandon Sklenar). 
• Opus (streaming on HBO Max): Another new thriller to streaming, starring The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri as a journalist invited to join a select group for a retired pop star’s (John Malkovich) comeback party at his creepy cult compound. The movie premieres on HBO Saturday at 8/7c.