TV: ‘Succession’ returns, ‘Dopesick’ takes on prescription drug crisis

The pandemic knocked “Succession” off its production schedule but not its game. Two years after its sophomore season concluded, the HBO drama returns 9 p.m. Sunday with the wealthy, dysfunctional Roy family up to more power-grab shenanigans. As season three opens, media baron and patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) is in need of staunch allies after son Kendall (Jeremy Strong) abruptly pinned a corporate scandal on him. The stellar cast is joined by newcomers Alexander Skarsgård, Sanaa Lathan, Linda Emond, Jihae, Adrien Brody, Hope Davis and Dasha Nekrasova. (AP Television Writer Lynn Elber)

Also new this week:

• “Dopesick”: This new limited series examines how one company triggered the worst drug epidemic in American history. The series takes viewers to the epicenter of America’s struggle with opioid addiction, from the boardrooms of Big Pharma, to a distressed Virginia mining community, and the halls of the DEA. This eight-episode series inspired by the New York Times best-selling book by Beth Macy stars Michael Keaton, who also executive produced with Danny Strong. Premiered Oct. 13 on Hulu.

• “I Know What You Did Last Summer”: Teenagers are stalked by a killer who seems to know what happened a year ago after a car accident on their graduation night in this new horror series based on the Lois Duncan novel (which was turned into a horror movie of the same name), debuts with four episodes Friday, Oct. 15, on Amazon Prime Video, followed by four more episodes dropping weekly.

• The Indian romantic drama “Little Things” returns for its fourth and final season as Dhruv and Kavya make the tricky transition from young love to a more mature relationship. Premieres Friday, Oct. 15, on Netflix.

• “You”: Becoming a dad must change an obsessive stalker into a good guy, right? Season three of this “Dexter”-ish drama, which debuted in 2018 on the Lifetime network, begins streaming Friday, Oct. 15, on Netflix.

• “Karma’s World”: This animated children’s show about an aspiring musical artist and rapper with big talent and an even bigger heart stars Asia Bryant as Karma Grant, with appearances by Tiffany Haddish and Ludacris. Premieres Friday, Oct. 15, on Netflix.

• After Qatar won the right in 2010 to host the 2022 World Cup, the bidding process and the combative FIFA vote faced corruption investigations — with FIFA finding no evidence to pull the emirate’s hosting rights. But “The Men Who Stole the World Cup,” a two-part Discovery+ docuseries debuting Sunday, claims to tell the “unbelievable” story of how the “greatest show on Earth was sold to the highest bidders.” The series describes an alleged pattern of backroom deals and greed connected to the 32-nation soccer championship held every four years. (AP Television Writer Lynn Elber)

• “The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet,” a five-part Discovery series, will highlight 15 finalists and their solutions to a quintet of the planet’s greatest environmental problems, including air and ocean quality. Debuting Sunday on the discovery+ streaming service, the series features David Attenborough and Britain’s Prince William, who in 2020 launched the competition whose name evokes President John F. Kennedy’s “moonshot” program. The full series will air at 4 p.m. on the Discovery Channel on Saturday, Oct. 16, with the award ceremony carried Sunday, Oct. 17, on Discovery’s Facebook page. (AP Television Writer Lynn Elber)

• “Fear the Walking Dead”: The companion series to that OTHER zombie show premieres its seventh season at 9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 17, on AMC.

• “Hightown”: In Season 2 of this crime drama, newly minted state cop Jackie Quinones is thrust into the wave of deadly carfentanyl that is sweeping Cape Cod. She is focused on bringing down the druglord she holds responsible for the death of her best friend, but she struggles to hold on to her sobriety while trying to fix the unfixable. Premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 17, on Starz.

• “Wakefield”: Psychiatric nurse Nik Katira is the most stable person at Wakefield mental health unit in the picturesque Blue Mountains of Australia. But as his own sanity starts to slip, he questions the line between reality and madness. Premieres 9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18 on Showtime.