This crime comedy is way better than it needed to be

Watching

• Sunny Nights. Vicki Marvin needs to develop patience and a work ethic. Her brother Martin needs an infusion of courage. But before any self-actualization can happen, they urgently need to sell some spray-tan, because they’re broke. Read more about this lively crime comedy here.

• Scarpetta. Patricia Cornwell’s Scarpetta books, which debuted in 1990 with Postmortem, have had a long journey to the screen, with various actors pegged to play protagonist Kay Scarpetta throughout the years. Now, for fans of the bestselling mystery novels and newcomers alike, the wait is over. We break down the ending here.

• Virgin River. Netflix’s intoxicatingly cozy show offers a parade picturesque vistas, charming characters, horses, and endless juicy drama. We break down the ending of the seventh season here.

Reading

• In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man. National Magazine Award winner Tom Junod’s debut memoir probes his relationship with his secretive, seductive father. The author recreates a lost era of Manhattan nightclubs, Hollywood parties, and tabloid headlines as he pieces together a complex love, beaming a light on today’s masculinity crisis. Read more.

• Under Water. In this highly anticipated debut, a motherless girl and her marine-biologist father travel to Thailand, where they’re welcomed by a community of research scientists. But a deadly tsunami shatters main character Marissa’s fragile happiness; and years later, as an adult in New York City, she confronts another storm, sweeping her back into the depths of her memories. Read more.

• Darkology. A decade in the making, Princeton scholar Rhae Lynn Barnes’ rich if disquieting history of blackface rips off the masks from entertainers and politicians alike. She wraps meticulous research around a mainstreamed (until recently) form of white supremacy, rooted in minstrel shows. Read more.