3 Things to Watch Tonight: Sunday Picks, July 12

Sunday Evening Streaming Picks

Sunday evening is made for settling in with something good. Whether you're winding down after a busy weekend or just looking for a reason to stay on the couch, tonight's picks cover frontier drama, comedy, and documentary — there's something here for every mood.

Headliner: Little House on the Prairie on Netflix

Netflix's reimagining of Little House on the Prairie premiered July 9 and has become one of the week's most talked-about new shows. With a 75% Rotten Tomatoes score, the eight-episode survival drama repositions the Ingalls family story as a gritty frontier thriller — think less nostalgic pioneer tale and more brutal period survival.

A fresh Deadline interview with showrunner Rachel Shukert (The Boys, Vampire Diaries) digs into how the team crafted the fever-dream flashbacks that fill in the Ingalls family's backstory, drawing inspiration from Anne of Green Gables for the emotional stakes. The show was renewed for a second season before the premiere — a strong vote of confidence that suggests this reboot has staying power. For a family drama with real dramatic heft, this is the pick tonight.

Elle on Prime Video

If you need a break from frontier survival, Elle offers a completely different vibe. The Legally Blonde spinoff follows Lexi Minetree as Elle Woods' daughter navigating law school, family expectations, and an impossibly pink legacy. It landed on Prime Video July 3 with a 50% Rotten Tomatoes score — not universal acclaim, but the show has found passionate fans who appreciate its heartfelt approach to the source material.

Fresh showrunner interviews in both Variety and Deadline unpack the season 1 finale, the love triangle dynamics, and how the late James Van Der Beek rewrote his character's ending. Season 2 is already generating buzz, making now a good time to catch up.

The Man Will Burn on HBO Max

For documentary fans, HBO Max's The Man Will Burn offers a different kind of escape. Directed by Oscar-nominated filmmakers Jehane Noujaim (The Square, The Great Hack) and Vikram Gandhi, this four-part docuseries traces Burning Man's evolution from a scrappy countercultural gathering on a San Francisco beach to the 80,000-person desert phenomenon it is today.

Noujaim describes filming the festival as "like filming in a wedding and a war zone at the same time," and the series captures both the awe and the chaos. It premiered July 9 and works as either a binge or a one-episode-per-night slow burn. Even if you've never been to the playa, it's a fascinating look at how a temporary city in the desert became a cultural institution.

Quick Picks by Mood

Appointment TV: Little House on the Prairie for a breakout new drama with critical momentum. Something thoughtful: The Man Will Burn for a documentary that asks big questions about community and creativity. Light and fun: Elle for a comfort-watch with Legally Blonde DNA.

Whatever you're in the mood for, there's something here worth your time tonight. Happy watching.