Best-bets for Sept. 1: Poor Mrs. Wilson is back

1) “Mrs. Wilson,” 8-11 p.m., PBS (check local listings). Ruth Wilson (shown here) has been terrific in lots of fictional tales, including “Luther” and “The Affair.” But she also found this true story in her own family: Alexander Wilson, her grandfather, wrote 24 spy novels and more. He was a professor, a porter and an officer in the MI6 spy service. But when he died, his widow found multiple wives, children, identities and lies. It’s a fascinating story, rerunning here, with Wilson subtly perfect as her stunned grandmother. Read more…

1) “Mrs. Wilson,” 8-11 p.m., PBS (check local listings). Ruth Wilson (shown here) has been terrific in lots of fictional tales, including “Luther” and “The Affair.” But she also found this true story in her own family: Alexander Wilson, her grandfather, wrote 24 spy novels and more. He was a professor, a porter and an officer in the MI6 spy service. But when he died, his widow found multiple wives, children, identities and lies. It’s a fascinating story, rerunning here, with Wilson subtly perfect as her stunned grandmother.

2) “Serengeti,” 8 p.m., Discovery. This fifth chapter of the epic documentary finds struggles for survival. The wild dogs fear the hyenas … who fear the black-maned lions. Then a bigger threat takes over: This is dry season; a storm ignites a fire that starts to consume the Serengti.

3) “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “NCIS: New Orleans,” 9 and 10 p.m., CBS. Now that “Instinct” is gone, these two can have back-to-back reruns. In the first hour, Nell’s sister learns that the guy she liked in high school is now involved with a Russian spy scheme. In the second, a deadly car explosion in the French Quarter leads to a probe of a student protest group.

4) “On Becoming a God in Central Florida,” 10 p.m., Showtime. In last week’s opener, a mom (Kirsten Dunst) saw her family destroyed by a pyramid sales scheme. After her husband was killed by an alligator, she took revenge by shooting some ‘gators. Now she scrambles to rebuild her life. Like the opener, this is beautifully acted – especially by Dunst and the always-terrific Mel Rodriguez, as her boss and friend – but offers few glimmers of hope.

5) More pay-cable. Even on a holiday weekend, when broadcast networks retreat to reruns, cable booms ahead. Showime precedes “On Becoming (etc.)” with”The Affair” at 9. HBO re-unites the “Vice Principals” duo, when Walton Goggins guests on Danny McBride’s “The Righteous Gemstones”; he plays the little brother of McBride’s late mother. That’s at 10, sandwiched by “Succession” at 9 and “Ballers” at 10:35. And on “Power” (8 p.m., Starz), Ghost faces schemes from his son and others.

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