Like his super-popular “The Walking Dead,” Robert Kirkman’s “Outcast” (Cinemax, 10 p.m.) is derived from a comic book he also co-wrote. So besides all the comic book angles and wrenched psychological twists amid the blood, there is a pilot that turns on shocking violence against a small child.
it happens in the first scene and twists it with a knock-out, drag-out fight before it’s over. As in the small fry who have to be put down in that first “Walking Dead,” where we were told: it’s not really human, it’s a zombie; here, it’s not really a child, it’s a demon who has possessed it.
So yes, it’s an exorcism saga of sorts, with a deeper psychology. Patrick Fugit (who, yes, was the kid in “Almost Famous,” all grown up) thinks he is causing all this and he’s pretty good. And there’s something very normal about the preacher he helps, Philip Glenister. There is a sense of place created with the depiction of down and out rural West Virginia.
But all that violence on a kid? It’s almost a test for viewers: If you can take this, you’re ready for the rest of the series.
The fourth season of “Morgan Spurlock: Inside Man” (CNN, 10 p.m.) begins, with the host immersing himself into the world of gambling.
The rise of the heroin epidemic and the costs involved in modernizing America’s nuclear arsenal are subjects tonight on “Vice” (HBO, 11 p.m.).
In the aspirational new “All in with Cam Newton” (Nickelodeon, 8 p.m.), the Carolina Panthers quarterback helps kids with their dreams by introducing them to big names in their fields.
The fifth season of “Comedy Bang! Bang!” (IFC, 11 p.m.) begins, with Weird Al Yankovic joining the cast as bandleader. Guests of host Scott Aukerman include Ben Schwartz and Kevin Bacon.
You can judge the success of the new “Maya & Marty” variety show this week by comparing it to their gold standard, “Carol Burnett’s Favorite Sketches” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings). Here’s an interview I did with Burnett in April.
As season three of “Girl Meets World” (Disney, 8:30 p.m.) begins, Riley and her friends are just entering high school.
Eddie Huang, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Nick Hanauer, John Avalon and Matt Welch are guests on a new “Real Time with Bill Maher” (HBO, 10 p.m.).
Now that the eight hour remake of “Roots” is over, historians discuss what happened on “Roots: A History Revealed” (History, 10 p.m.).
“Ben Glieb: Neurotic Gangster” (Showtime, 10 p.m.) is a one hour standup comedy special. There’s more comedy in the online special, “Bo Burnham: Make Happy” (Netflix, streaming).
“The Governors Ball 2016 Live” (Viceland, 9 p.m.) covers the music festival from New York’s Randalls Island with the Strokes, Beck, Robyn, Of Monsters and Men, Matt and Kim and Bloc Party.
Danica McKellar is a paid of honor who finds romance in the made for TV movie “Wedding Bells” (Hallmark, 9 p.m.).
A month-long, 17-film Friday night salute to the work of Billy Wilder begins on Turner Classic Movies with “The Major and the Minor” (8 p.m.), “Five Graves to Cairo” (10 p.m.), “Double Indemnity” (midnight), “The Lost Weekend” (2 a.m.) and “Days of Wine and Roses” (4 a.m.). And stranded by itself in the middle of the afternoon, “Some Like It Hot” (TCM, 2:30 p.m.).
Baseball has Arizona at Cubs (MLB, 2 p.m.) and San Francisco at St. Louis (MLB, 8 p.m.).
In soccer, the Copa America Centenario has U.S. vs. Columbia (Fox Sports 1, 9:30 p.m.). Tennis has semifinals in the French Open (Tennis, 6 a.m.; NBC Sports, 11 a.m.).
Daytime Talk
Kelly Ripa: Laura Linney, Paula Abdul, Mark Consuls. The Talk: Bellman Young, Sherri Shepherd, Pat Smith. Chelsea Handler: Megan Fox, Jacob Soboroff. Ellen DeGeneres: Cate Blanchett, Max Greenfield, Howie Mandel (rerun). Wendy Williams: Loretta Devine, Shaun T (rerun). Meredith Vieira: Valerie Harper, Clay Aiken (rerun).
Late Talk
Stephen Colbert: Anderson Cooper, Mark Feuerstein, Gwen Stefani (rerun). Jimmy Kimmel: Donald Trump, gergory Porter (rerun). Jimmy Fallon: Paul Rudd, Hugh Dancy, Jack Whitehall (rerun). Seth Meyers: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Shaffer, Greta Gerwig, Allison Miller (rerun). James Corden: Queen Latifah, David Walliams, Elle King (rerun). Carson Daly: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Day Wave, Mike Luciano, Phil Matures (rerun).