Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon season 3.
Photo by Ollie Upton/HBO
One of HBO’s most watched current series returns this week as House of the Dragon starts its third season. And one of the most acclaimed shows of the spring, Widow’s Bay, closes out its season. Those two are both big deals, but it’s otherwise a pretty light week for premieres and finale, with the World Cup likely taking up much of the TV oxygen both in the states and worldwide.
A few news items from late last week, then the dates for this week’s games, premieres and other notable things.
• The North American World Cup has started very well for Fox and Telemundo. Friday night’s opening game for the U.S. men scored just shy of 16 million viewers on Fox and streaming outlets Fox One and Tubi, based on early ratings. That’s the most watched U.S. men’s game ever on English-language TV, beating the 15.38 million for a U.S.-England group stage match in 2022. Telemundo and Peacock got 8.9 million viewers for the Spanish-language broadcast of the game (for the match only; Fox’s figure also includes pre-match coverage). Fox also drew 6.31 million people for Thursday’s opener between Mexico and South Africa; no data yet for Telemundo and Peacock, but it’s likely to be pretty big there as well.
• The Television Critics Association (I was once a member but no longer am) released the nominees for its annual awards on Friday. Heated Rivalry, Industry and Widow’s Bay each got five to lead all shows.
• Another set of multi-platform ratings was released late last week, showing seven-day numbers including streaming for the full 2025-26 season. At The Hollywood Reporter, I combined those with some of the biggest regular primetime sports broadcasts — which aren’t usually included in the multi-platform releases that come from Nielsen clients — to give a better picture of last season’s top shows regardless of type.
On to the dates for this week. All times are ET/PT unless noted.
World Cup schedule
The group stage continues this week (and most of next) as the 48-team field, the largest ever, cycles through the opening games for the groups that haven’t started yet and into the second matches for those who played last weekend. The listings below will show which Fox outlet has each game in the U.S.; every match is also available in Spanish on Telemundo and Peacock.
Monday
• Noon ET/9 a.m. PT: Spain vs. Cape Verde (Fox)
• 3 p.m. ET/noon PT: Belgium vs. Egypt (Fox)
• 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT: Saudia Arabia vs. Uruguay (FS1)
• 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT: Iran vs. New Zealand (FS1)
Tuesday
• 3 p.m. ET/noon PT: France vs. Senegal (Fox)
• 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT: Iraq vs. Norway (Fox)
• 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT: Argentina vs. Algeria (Fox)
• Midnight ET/9 p.m. PT: Austria vs. Jordan (FS1)
Wednesday
• 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT: Portugal vs. Congo DR (Fox)
• 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT: England vs. Croatia (Fox)
• 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT: Ghana vs. Panama (FS1)
• 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT: Uzbekistan vs. Colombia (FS1)
Thursday
• Noon ET/9 a.m. PT: Czechia vs. South Africa (Fox)
• 3 p.m. ET/noon PT: Switzerland vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina (Fox)
• 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT: Canada vs. Qatar (FS1)
• 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT: Mexico vs. South Korea (Fox)
Friday
• 3 p.m. ET/noon PT: United States vs. Australia (Fox)
• 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT: Scotland vs. Morocco (Fox)
• 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT: Brazil vs. Haiti (Fox)
• 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT: Turkiye vs. Paraguay (FS1)
Saturday
• 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT: Netherlands vs. Sweden (Fox)
• 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT: Germany vs. Ivory Coast (Fox)
• 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT: Ecuador vs. Curacao (FS1)
• Midnight ET/9 p.m. PT: Tunisia vs. Japan (FS1)
Sunday
• Noon ET/9 p.m. PT: Spain vs. Saudi Arabia (Fox)
• 3 p.m. ET/noon PT: Belgium vs. Iran (FS1)
• 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT: Uruguay vs. Cape Verde (FS1)
• 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT: New Zealand vs. Egypt (FS1)
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Premieres
Tuesday
• America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders (Netflix): Season three for this doc series/Cowboys propaganda exercise.
Wednesday
• The Simpsons: Extreme Makeover: Homer Edition (Disney+): The first of three streaming-exclusive Simpsons episodes this summer has an angered Marge speculating about different versions of Homer.
• The Season (Hulu): The “season” in question is summer in Hong Kong, as a wealthy group of friends gathers for the summer, and lies and power plays follow. Jessie Mei Li, Karena Lam and Toby Stephens lead the cast.
• 11 p.m.: OG Stories (BET): Damon Dash hosts a five-episode nonfiction series about “self-made moguls.”
Thursday
• I Will Find You (Netflix): The latest Harlan Coben adaptation from Netflix stars Sam Worthington as a man wrongly convicted of killing his son. After several years in prison, he finds out the boy may still be alive and breaks out in hopes of finding him and proving his own innocence.
• The Capture (Peacock): Season three of the British thriller has its stateside premiere after airing in the U.K. in March and April.
Friday
• Sugar (Apple TV): Colin Farrell’s L.A. private eye who’s really an alien — yes, really — is back on the case in season two.
Sunday
• The Agency (Paramount+): The second season of the CIA drama starring Michael Fassbender kicks off.
• 9 p.m.: House of the Dragon (HBO/HBO Max): The trailer for season three promises lots of carnage and King’s Landing intrigue.
Specials and movies
(Any movies below that don’t have a network or streamer listed next to them are available for rental or purchase.)
Tuesday
• A Spark Into a Flame: Hamilton and Hip Hop (Disney+): A documentary about the influence hip hop had on Hamilton composer Lin-Manuel Miranda. It’s also part of the show’s first physical media release.
Wednesday
• Never Change! (Hulu): High schoolers who had their senior year cut short by a tornado have to go back to finish up — when they’re in their 30s.
• 9 p.m.: Las Culturistas Culture Awards (Bravo): Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers host this tongue-in-cheek awards show based on their podcast.
Friday
• Color Book (Netflix): Will Catlett plays a recently widowed dad whose plan to take his son to a ballgame becomes a day-long journey and test of their resilience. The movie won several festival awards in 2024 and has its streaming premiere today.
• Voicemails for Isabelle (Netflix): Zoey Deutch and Nick Robinson star in this rom-com written and directed by Leah McKendrick.
Finales
Wednesday
• Widow’s Bay (Apple TV): The spring and early summer’s most talked-about show ends its first season.
• Outlast: The Jungle (Netflix)
Sunday
• 9 p.m.: The Way Home (Hallmark): It’s the series finale for Hallmark’s time-travel drama.
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