Reviews

“The Missing,” premiere, Sunday, 8pm, Starz. Viewers will be forgiven for thinking they’ve seen “The Missing” before. The barest bones of the plot—a family outside its home country has a child go missing—are similar to, yes, “The Missing,” Season 1. Just as before, there’s a French detective who comes out of retirement to work the case. And it’s the same actor (the wonderful Tchéky Karyo) playing the same part of Julien Baptiste. Despite similarities, this Missing has much going for it. Karyo alone is worth watching, but add David Morrissey and Keeley Hawesas the missing child’s parents and you have an addicting, 8-part thriller. — “30 for 30: This Was The XFL,” Sunday, 7:30am, ESPN2. Sure, many viewers know how the story ends: the XFL, a league WWE’s Vince McMahon created with TV legend Dick Ebersol, failed to see its sophomore year. But do they remember the roles gasoline and JLo played in the story? The short film is a choppy, wild ride as McMahon and Ebersol recount their attempt to birth a football league that would out-hype, out-tough and out-sex the NFL (players and announcers were encouraged to date the cheerleaders). A quibble: Ebersol scion Charlie is the filmmaker. Still, the story is loaded with honesty, mea culpas and plenty of warts. – Seth Arenstein