HD Highlights: July 19

SoHo Premiere: Weeds (Sky 10, 8.30, 5.1) Who got smoked in the shocking cliffhanger of season seven? Bag Man Andy? Bad Seed Shane? Mellow Fellow Doug? Or Nutty Nasty Nancy herself? Find out in the premiere of the eighth and, some would argue, not-before-time final season. “Being spoiler-averse, there’s little that can be said about how the first two episodes of this season play out without giving away who got shot, who did the shooting (and why), and how this bloody incident impacts what one character calls the ‘before’ and ‘after’ Botwins,” TV Guide said upon revisiting show for the first time in two seasons. “But it soon becomes painfully obvious that these are still the same awful, selfish opportunists I’d banished to memory long ago … I’m pretty sure there aren’t drugs strong enough to get me to the bittersweet end of this series.” But as Entertainment Weekly observed: “Weeds may be burning down to a nub, but there just might be a few good hits left in this joint.” ✭✭✭✭

SoHo Premiere: Hung (Sky 10, 9.00, 5.1) Like Weeds, Hung hangs the American Dream out to dry. Ex-action hero Thomas Jane (The Punisher) winningly plays a Detroit high school teacher who becomes less a Midnight Cowboy than a middle-aged gigolo to help make ends meet in the wake of a divorce, the recession and his house burning down. Hung is much smarter, funnier and erudite than its title suggests, hence Oscar-winner Alexander Payne (The Descendants, Sideways, About Schmidt) directing the pilot. An empathetic portrait of mid-life malaise, as suffered by both sexes, it’s refreshingly adult in the best sense of the word. Jane Adams and Anne Heche co-star. ✭✭✭✭

Episodes (TV One, 10.05) Sean’s infatuation with Morning blossoms when Matt invites the two of them to a charity benefit. And Beverly finds she has more to worry about regarding her husband than she realised. ✭✭✭✭✭

Fringe (TV2, 10.35, 5.1) While Peter and Olivia investigate murders involving an inexplicable toxin, Astrid and her Other Side counterpart meet for the first time. Reviews ranged from “one of those Fringes that fans are bound to remember long after the show finishes its run” (AV Club) to “far from my favourite” (LA Times). “If I had to sum up this episode in a word I’d call it ‘cute’,” IGN said. “Yes, that’s odd for a Fringe story with a serial killer, but Alt Astrid makes it happen.” ✭✭✭✭