Premieres of ‘Dark Winds’ and ‘Righteous Gemstones’, Immigration Drama in ‘1923,’ ‘American Idol’ Auditions

SUNDAY: The excellent adaptation of Dark Winds, based on Tony Hillerman’s Navajo Nation mysteries, set in the 1970s, returns for a third season (already renewed for a fourth), with Zahn McClernon (Reservation Dogs) again projecting a warm, unassuming authority as Navajo Tribal Police Lt. Joe Leaphorn. We first see him in a moment of crisis before the story flips back seven days to Leaphorn and Deputy Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) investigating the disappearance of two missing boys, one Hispanic and one Navajo. One of the youths reported being chased by “a monster,” and certainly dangers lurk in those desert lands.

Some 450 miles south in New Mexico, former deputy turned Border Patrol agent Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) intercepts an immigrant mother and daughter and suspects human trafficking, though her condescending boss tells her not to worry her “pretty little eyes.” Joining the cast: Jenna Elfman as FBI agent Sylvia Washington, who’s come to the reservation to “button up some cold cases,” which could create a problem for Leaphorn.

SUNDAY: Danny McBride’s best series, the rollicking chronicle of an unholy televangelist family, takes a wild detour in the opener of its fourth and final season. We’re sworn to secrecy, but fans won’t want to miss what amounts to a startling Gemstone origin story fronted by a guest-star who’ll be all the buzz the next day. If the rest of the season is this surprising, we’re all in for a treat.

SUNDAY: Ellis Island may be a gateway to America, but for pregnant Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer), who’s crossed the ocean to reunite with the dashing Spencer (Brandon Sklenar), it’s also a hurdle. Separated from her husband, who’s having his own perilous adventures in Texas, and with no travel documents, Alexandra endures a hostile and harrowing inspection process in a remarkable sequence that occupies more than half of the episode. Knowing she could be turned away should her pregnancy be exposed, subjected to clinical and dehumanizing examinations, she mocks “the welcoming arms of America” and declares, “This is the least free I have ever felt in my life.” And her journey is far from over.

SUNDAY: The search for the next musical superstar begins with auditions in New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville for the show’s 23rd season (the eighth on ABC), and one of the judges knows the drill all too well. Carrie Underwood, who won Season 4 20 years ago (!) in 2005 and soon became a country-music powerhouse, joins the judging panel alongside Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, with Ryan Seacrest as ever acting as host and cheerleader.

SUNDAY: You’d think the exotic amenities at the Thailand resort would be enough for most people. But not for Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), who urges her girlfriends to “get loose” as they head out for an eventful day that doesn’t go quite as planned. Other guests accept an invitation aboard “Gary’s” (Jon Gries) yacht, which causes naïve Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) to gasp, “This is like an oligarch’s boat.” (She’s not wrong.) Unfortunately, the stressed-out Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs) is too far gone on his wife’s anti-anxiety meds to take much notice.

INSIDE WEEKEND TV:

• Travels with Agatha Christie and Sir David Suchet (Saturday, streaming on BritBox): In a five-part docuseries, the actor who’s considered the definitive Hercule Poirot recreates the legendary mystery author’s 1922 world tour, visiting sites in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Hawaii.
• Asia (Saturday, 8/7c, BBC America): The nature series devotes its final episode to conservation efforts throughout the continent, including high-tech breeding programs and Nepali police conducting a raid to stop illegal wildlife trade. Followed by a fascinating making-of special at 9/8c.
• I Am Raquel Welch (Saturday, 8/7c, The CW): A biographical documentary profiles the movie sex symbol, who can also be seen Sunday on Turner Classic Movies in the 1973 mystery The Last of Sheila (8/7c).
• I Was Octomom: The Natalie Suleman Story (Saturday, 8/7c, Lifetime): Kristen Lee Gutoskie stars as the woman who earned international notoriety after giving birth to the first surviving octuplets, conceived through IVF, in 2009, adding eight babies to her family of six.
• The Reluctant Royal (Saturday, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel): A Philadelphia mechanic (Andrew Walker) discovers his long-lost father is a duke, which doesn’t seem a great fit until he meets the duke’s advisor (Emilie de Ravin).
• 48 Hours (Saturday, 10/9c, CBS): Peter Van Sant reports on the 2016 murder in South Carolina of 22-year-old Cati Blauvelt, whose estranged husband, Army recruiter John Blauvelt, became the prime suspect.
• Saturday Night Live (Saturday, 11:30/10:30c, 8:30 pm/PT, NBC): For the second time, Lady Gaga appears as both host and musical guest (the fifth time for the latter).
• 60 Minutes (Sunday, 7/6c, CBS): Scott Pelley reports on the government’s firing of independent watchdogs, Cecilia Vega explores the $7.4 billion settlement by the Sackler family in the opioid case against Purdue Pharma, and Jon Wertheim visits the University of Connecticut men’s basketball program as the team aims for a historic three-peat in the upcoming NCAA tournament. Followed by new episodes of Tracker (8/7c), Watson (9/8c) and The Equalizer (10/9c).
• Home Town Takeover (Sunday, 8/7c, HGTV): Ben and Erin Napier embark on a mission to renovate and revive the hurricane-battered and depleted town of Sebring, Florida.
• Naked and Afraid (Sunday, 8/7c, Discovery): Season 18 of the immodest survival series opens with one of its most remarkable participants: Mandy, a double amputee who once scaled Mount Kilimanjaro and now begins a 21-day ordeal in the Belize rainforest.
• The Real Housewives of Atlanta (Sunday, 8/7c, Bravo): Season 16 welcomes Porsha Williams back to the Southern gaggle alongside four new wives.
• The Americas (Sunday, 8/7c, NBC): The series traverses “the Frozen North,” with wolves and polar bears clashing in Hudson Bay, male walruses singing off the Alaska coast and salmon beginning their summertime upstream journey. Followed by new episodes of Suits LA (9/8c) and Grosse Pointe Garden Society (10/9c).
• United States of Scandal with Jake Tapper (Sunday, 9/8c, CNN): The second season opens with the anchor exploring the FBI’s ABSCAM sting operation which exposed bribery and corruption in Congress in the late 1970s and early ’80s. Followed by the premiere of Twitter: Breaking the Bird (10/9c), a four-part docuseries depicting the turbulent history of the social-media app.
• Crash Course Cuisine with Hudson Yang (Sunday, 10/9c, National Geographic): The Fresh Off the Boat star, who played a young Eddie Huang, hones his own culinary talents in a travelogue that takes him to Houston, New Orleans and Singapore. In the opener, he goes “Back to the Basics” to prepare food for his former Boat co-stars.
• Filthy Fortunes (Sunday, 10/9c, Discovery): “King of Hoards” Matt Paxton travels the country to find hidden treasures within the messiest of homes.
• The $100,000 Pyramid (Sunday, 10/9c, ABC): The game show launches a new season with celebrity guests Mark Duplass and Pete Holmes going head-to-head, followed by Laverne Cox and Thomas Lennon.