CW, 8:00 p.m. ET
SERIES RETURN: Two new episodes of this quickly canceled CW series return to burn off a few prime-time summer hours. In one of them, Skye (Jessica Lucas) infiltrates a secret meeting of the True Believers, led by cult leader Billy (Robert Knepper). Of course, if there were more True Believers, or better scripts, maybe this series would have kept going last season, instead of being exhumed for summer’s Write-Off Theatre. Now, as is, it’s merely a summer curiosity on a very slow Friday TV night.
Cinemax, 8:20 p.m. ET
Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis star, and square off, in this 2012 comedy about an Everyman who’s selected to oppose a buffoon of a congressman in an upcoming local election. In theaters, The Campaign sank quickly – but on TV, on a slow weekend, it’s a pleasant enough diversion.
PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET
This PBS special takes an ultra-focused look at the current Broadway revival of the musical Annie, honing in on the casting, planning, choreography, rehearsal and opening-night performance of one musical number: the orphan’s group protest song, “It’s the Hard-Knock Life.” You could just as easily, and just as entertainingly, have made a documentary about the training of the dog playing Sandy (no kidding). But what’s here, to those who love theater, is very entertaining, from the relentless countdown to opening night to the understandable occasional lack of focus by the very young girls playing the orphans (one weary and frustrated adult likens in to trying to teach zombies). And at the end, it’s all about the magic of the stage – how, somehow, it all comes together magically at the end. Check local listings.
HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET
Tonight’s guests include someone who used to be seen every weekend on HBO: actor (and now director and producer) Adrian Grenier, formerly the star of the network’s Entourage.
IFC, 10:00 p.m. ET
SEASON FINALE: Marc Maron finishes up his freshman season on IFC with a doubleheader, a two-part season finale that has him, among other things, bidding goodbye to his new girlfriend Jen, and squabbling with his assistant Kyle, who also leaves Maron – to get a new job as a street-sign holder.