CRUEL SUMMER - ÒWelcome to ChathamÓ - In Summer 1999, small-town computer genius Megan resents the arrival of outgoing and mysterious foreign exchange student Isabella. Little does she know how her life will change by Summer 2000. (Freeform/Justine Yeung) GRIFFIN GLUCK, SADIE STANLEY, LEXI UNDERWOOD

Best-bets for July 17: cruel drama, miraculous comedy

1) “Cruel Summer,” 10 p.m., Freeform. This has become a surprisingly good show, with complex characters played by gifted young actors. Tonight’s episode (the 8th of 10) finally shows most of what happened the night Luke was killed. As usual, it also bounces to six months earlier and later. In some ways, the transition of Megan unrealistically extreme. Still, Sadie Stanley (shown here, second from left, in a previous episode) makes if believable. Read more…

1) “Cruel Summer,” 10 p.m., Freeform. This has become a surprisingly good show, with complex characters played by gifted young actors. Tonight’s episode (the 8th of 10) finally shows most of what happened the night Luke was killed. As usual, it also bounces to six months earlier and later. In some ways, the transition of Megan unrealistically extreme. Still, Sadie Stanley (shown here, second from left, in a previous episode) makes if believable.

2) “Miracle Workers,”10 and 10:30 p.m., TBS. Just before her “Abbott Elementary” soared, Quinta Brunson did several “Miracle” episodes playing Steve Buscemi’s daughter, an Old West outlaw. Now she guests as an administrator; Buscemi hopes to bribe her, to get his two-headed son a good position. It’s a good episode, preceded by one in which a couple seeks therapy for bedroom blahs. The result is both very funny and, at times, very adult.

3) “Claim to Fame,” 8 p.m., ABC. Housemates feel Shayne is Eddie Murphy’s daughter, but she’s created clever distractions. Last week, she tricked “Jane” into a wrong guess about someone else. Now Jane (actually Jada Star, Dolly Parton’s niece) is gone; Shayne pushes a theory that Karsyn is related to racer Jeff Gordon. It’s an interesting hour, in a show that has already ousted Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s son and Tom Hanks’ niece.

4) “The Weakest Link,” 10 p.m.,, NBC. All of the contestants are WWE wrestlers, ranging from hulks to Alexa Bliss, billed as “five feet of fury.” Host Jane Lynch (six feet of droll) finds mixed results. One wrestler gets 12 straight correct answers; others think the Declaration of Independence was signed in the 17th century and George Washington was elected four times. The result is kind of fun.

5) ALSO: It’s a night stuffed with new non-fiction: At 8 p.m., NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior” and Fox’s “Stars on Mars”; at 9, ABC’s “Bachelorette,” Fox’s “Crime Scene Kitchen” and PBS’ “Great American Recipe.” At 10, PBS’ “POV” has an Oscar-nominated film about a shelter for Ukrainian kids.

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