What to watch this week: The triumphant return of Eddie Murphy, four decades later

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photo courtesy Netflix

Eddie Murphy is back as Axel Foley

Premieres Wednesday:

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F — After nearly four decades, Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley is still a walking case of culture shock when he brings his Detroit sensibility back to the tonier avenues of Los Angeles. And with good reason, says producer Jerry Bruckheimer: “They might just be the two most opposite places in America.” (Yeehaw Junction and Kennebunkport have entered the chat.) (Netflix)

The Man With 1,000 Kids — Learn all about serial sperm donor Jonathan Meijer, who suckered women around the world into thinking he was providing them with an exclusive service. What finally tipped off the cops was his bulk-order account with Baby Einstein. (Netflix)

Premieres Thursday:

Barbecue Showdown — The number of contestants jumps from eight to nine in Season 3, and you know what that means: a better-than-ever chance that somebody will collapse of charcoal inhalation and wind up on a revival of Rescue 911. (Netflix)

Rhythm + Flow France — Season 3 of the hip-hop competition show features guest appearances by some of the big names in French rap, including Jul, Hamza and the ever-controversial Machine Gun Depardieu. (Netflix)

Premieres Friday:

Desperate Lies — A Brazilian woman has some serious ’splainin’ to do when she becomes pregnant by two different men at the same time. The show creators swear this is a thing that actually happens once in a blue moon. And I really wish I had known that before I told my lawyer to refuse those support payments. (Netflix)

Goyo — For proof that love can be found in the unlikeliest of places, let’s all take a trip to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires, where an autistic tour guide and an embittered security guard are teaching each other how to trust again. Because if there’s one place you’re going to learn about trust, it’s at an art museum — right, Orlando? (Netflix)

The Imaginary — Drop Dead Fred meets Monsters Inc. as a bunch of imaginary friends help reunite one of their own with the human companion he’s become separated from. While they’re at it, can they please track down Tim Scott’s girlfriend? He’s worried sick. (Netflix)

The King of Zanzibar — The financial collapse of Zanzibar’s Pili Pili hotel chain is retold through the testimonies of defrauded victims who lost their proverbial shirt to founder Wojciech Żabiński, aka “Wojtek from Zanzibar.” Two thorny questions the doc tries to resolve: Was Żabiński a knowing scam artist or just one of the scammed himself? And who would let something like this happen in the birthplace of Freddie Mercury? That’s sacred ground! (Max)

Mirzapur Season 3 — Nearly four years have elapsed since Season 2 of the Indian crime thriller, and we still don’t know if the empire of underworld kingpin Akhandanand Tripathi will be inherited legitimately or stolen. Who’s counting those votes, the Democrats? (Prime Video)

Premieres Saturday:

WWE Money in the Bank — The winner gets a shot at the championship of their choice in the second in a row of these annual events to be held outside the United States. (Wow, maybe Biden has been asleep at the switch after all.) (Peacock)

Premieres Tuesday:

The Boyfriend — At long last, a somewhat fresh take on reality dating: A bunch of gay Japanese guys agree to live in the same house and run a coffee truck together, in hopes of finding their new squeeze. Good luck, dudes! And hook me up with a big ol’ mug of that Rump Roast. (Netflix)

Hannah Berner: We Ride at Dawn — The viral star/podcaster/reality TV vet takes to the stage of Philadelphia’s Fillmore theater for an hour of the best damn stand-up you’re entitled to expect from a viral star/podcaster/reality TV vet. Hey, speaking of which, why can’t guys find a woman’s forward slash anyway? (Netflix)

Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken — A two-part documentary catches the acoustic-rock icon in the process of writing a song for and about the inmates of a Kansas women’s prison. “This one’s called ‘Bring Me Some Water, and Also a Bundt Cake With a File in It.’” (Paramount+)