1. Limitless
Tuesday, 10 p.m., CBS
This week’s episode sees Brian (Jake McDorman) — guinea pig for the brain-boosting drug NZT — learn a shocking secret about the late father of his FBI colleague Rebecca (Jennifer Carpenter). But he worries telling her will land him in legal trouble. Carpenter, speaking to The Post on a lunch break from shooting in Bushwick, Brooklyn, talks about going from Dexter Morgan’s sister to a no-nonsense FBI handler. — Andrea Morabito
Is it a relief to be on a show that’s less gory than “Dexter”?
As much as I loved playing Deb [on ‘Dexter], it’s a relief to not be playing Deb. Rebecca’s a much easier person to walk around with every day. Her life is in order, and while she does have things that mar her past, they don’t mar her present and destroy her possibility for a future.
This week we find out she has a secret boyfriend, played by your “Dexter” co-star Desmond Harrington. Was it fun to reunite?
I don’t know if they would say “boyfriend-girlfriend.” [He’s] someone she enjoys, for sure. I hadn’t even thrown [Harrington’s] name out there. Craig Sweeny, our showrunner, mentioned it and I called Desmond and said, “You better say yes!”
Do you see any potential romance building between Rebecca and Brian?
It’s more a sibling kind of [relationship]. We’re eight episodes in now, and that sounds incredibly wrong to me. Maybe it’s also because Brian’s a guy who’s been chasing his dreams of being in a band … He’s much younger than Rebecca in many ways. It wouldn’t be successful.
Pretend NZT really exists — do you try it, or no?
It would be a bad thing because it separates a person from the soul. Whatever [Eddie Mora’s] plan is in the movie … it controls his life now and it all depends on a drug. If my life represents ignorance and ignorance is bliss, then I’d prefer not to know what the other side looks like.
2. Compared to What? the Improbable Journey of Barney Frank
Friday, 9 p.m., Showtime
Former Congressman Barney Frank recalls his controversial political career in a new documentary that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year. We see Frank dealing with fellow politicos, talking to his constituents on the streets of Boston and taking wedding vows with his longterm partner, Jim Ready. Frank was the first member of Congress to enter into a same-sex marriage. In this film, he is fondly recalled by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, among many others.
3. The Good Wife
Sunday, 9 p.m., CBS
Alicia (Julianna Margulies) and Lucca (Cush Jumbo) work together on a court case involving a designer-drug dealer. Also, Eli (Alan Cumming) encourages Alicia and Veronica (Stockard Channing) to participate in a televised cooking show to help Peter’s (Chris Noth) campaign. It’s a disaster.
4. The Leftovers
Sunday, 9 p.m., HBO
Laurie (Amy Brenneman) works on a book to expose the Guilty Remnant, and rents office space to serve as a refuge for individuals fleeing the cult, while Tom (Chris Zylka) goes undercover to rescue lost souls from the group’s silent, evil clutches.
5. Scandal
Thursday, 9 p.m., ABC
Olivia (Kerry Washington) knows she can’t handle her latest crisis on her own and calls for help from an unexpected source. Meanwhile, Mellie (Bellamy Young) and Cyrus (Jeff Perry) continue to pull strings from the sidelines, and Jake (Scott Foley) is still occupied by a ghost from his past. Co-starring Darby Stanchfield and Portia de Rossi.
6. The Affair
Sunday, 10 p.m., Showtime
Noah (Dominic West) and Alison (Ruth Wilson) get a surprise visitor at their love nest. When they are invited to dinner, their hosts, Yvonne (Joanna Gleason) and Henry (Jeffrey DeMunn), ask how they met and Alison’s version really is the stuff of fiction: a rainy run-in at the Montauk lighthouse while Noah was “researching” his book. Meanwhile, Noah runs into his buddy Max (Josh Stambergh) and shares his anxiety about not having enough money to rent an apartment so his kids can visit when he gets shared custody. Max does not share, of course, that he happens to be hooking up with Noah’s estranged wife Helen (Maura Tierney), and writes him a check for $50,000 to speed up the divorce.
7. Blindspot
Monday, 10 p.m., NBC
After a hostage situation turns out to have deeper international implications, the CIA and FBI find themselves competing to apprehend the same criminal with a dark history. Meanwhile, Carter (Michael Gaston) expresses concern about Jane’s (Jaimie Alexander) trustworthiness, causing friction with Mayfair (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) and testing Reade’s (Rob Brown) loyalty to the team. Meeting Weller’s (Sullivan Stapleton) family proves overwhelming for Jane as she grapples with her identity. Not to mention those tattoos.
8. Empire
Wednesday, 9 p.m., Fox
Over at Lyon Dynasty, Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) and Anika (Grace Gealey) work together with Laz (Adam Rodriguez) to throw “Cookie Lyon’s Block Party,” a big event to launch their label, showcase their artists and premiere a song written by Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray). Meanwhile over at Empire, Jamal (Jussie Smollett) gets busy working on his music with Ne-Yo. Also, Hakeem begins a tender romance with the lead singer of his girl group, and Andre (Trai Byers) takes steps to rid his soul of past sins.