August is usually a hopeless month on TV. There’s not much to watch, and the fall shows are just around the corner — but not close enough. This month, however, sees the debut of two potentially engrossing new series as well as a series of crowd-pleasers designed to send everyone to their Twitter accounts.
The Knick
August 8, 10 p.m., Cinemax
Clive Owen stars as John Thackery, a brilliant physician who becomes the chief surgeon at the fictitious Knickerbocker Hospital in NYC. The year is 1900 and the mortality rate at The Knick, as the facility is known, is high. Thackery’s challenge is to stay off cocaine long enough to do his job and to find a way to work with a mysterious new doctor, Algernon Edwards (Andre Holland), who has European training to his benefit but whose race (he’s African-American) complicates his life and career. Eve Hewson, the daughter of U2 frontman Bono and fashion entrepreneur Ali Hewson, co-stars as a nurse. Not for the squeamish, it shows a city in turmoil. Directed by Steven Soderbergh.
Shark Week
August 10-17, various times, Discovery
Nothing scares the crap out of people like “Shark Week,” and the annual homage to underwater feeding frenzies has been an institution since 1987. This year, the list of specials expands from 11 to 13, all followed by the nightly talk show “Shark After Dark,” hosted by Josh Wolf.
Legends
August 13, 9 p.m., TNT
“Game of Thrones” fans so associate British actor Sean Bean with the role of Ned Stark that they may have a hard time accepting him in a contemporary story. But “Legends,” a new TNT drama, casts him as undercover FBI agent Martin Odum, who assumes different identities on a weekly basis as his character takes on such roles as a Serbian extremist, a Scottish soccer club executive and a Chicago police officer. Ali Larter co-stars.
MTV Music Video Awards
August 24, 9 p.m., MTV
All eyes will be on Beyonce as fans gather at the Forum in LA for the annual MTV musical extravaganza, which made headlines last year for its Barclays Center show in Brooklyn in which Miley Cyrus did some serious twerking with Robin Thicke.
Beyonce is nominated for eight awards this year, the most of any performer; right behind her are Eminem and Australian rapper Iggy Azalea (seven nominations apiece). Guests include Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, Ariana Grande, Lorde and Pitbull.
The 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards
August 25, 8 p.m., NBC
“Late Night” host Seth Meyers emcees TV’s biggest night, honoring the finest shows of the year —though there’s been some complaining about the TV Academy’s choices. Does winning an Emmy really change your career the way an Oscar does for a film actor? Probably not, but the ceremony will show how hip — or unhip — the voters really are. Will “Breaking Bad” and Bryan Cranston win farewell Emmys, or will the much-hyped “True Detective” walk away with the top drama prize?
Netflix could surprise viewers if “House of Cards” and “Orange Is the New Black” clean up in the drama and comedy categories.