Matthew Rhys in Widow’s Bay. Courtesy Apple TV
The coming week is a pretty quiet one on both the premiere and finale front — something that will likely change as the calendar flips to May and season/series finales really start to pile up. Now would be a good time to catch up on some stuff, I guess.
A few bits of news from the TV world over the past few days:
• There was a fan convention in Mexico called CCXP over the weekend, featuring new trailers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, Spider-Noir starring Nicolas Cage and House of the Dragon season 3. HBO hasn’t publicly released the HotD trailer as I write this (it’s coming Monday), but you can read about the CCXP session from my THR colleague Ryan Gajewski, who was on site.
•Season 4 of The White Lotus started filming earlier in the month, and now there’s a cast change: Helena Bonham Carter is leaving, and her role will be recast. “The character which Mike White created for Helena Bonham Carter did not align once on set,” an HBO rep said. “The role has subsequently been rethought, is being rewritten and will be recast in the coming weeks. HBO, the producers and Mike White are saddened that they won’t get to work with her, but remain ardent fans and very much hope to work with the legendary actress on another project soon.”
• Speaking of Mike White: The first series he created, 2001’s Pasadena, is streaming on Tubi. It was canceled after four episodes, but from what I remember, it deserved better. I’m planning to check it out again to see if that’s actually the case. The show was a soap about a wealthy family, starring Dana Delany, Martin Donovan, Alison Lohman, Balthazar Getty and Mark Valley. Diane Keaton(!) directed the pilot episode.
Here’s what’s coming this week in the TV and streaming world. All times are ET/PT unless otherwise noted.
Premieres
Tuesday
• My Killer Father: The Green Hollow Murders (Paramount+) - The father in question in this true-crime series is reputed serial killer Donald Studey. One of his daughters claims she saw him dispose of several bodies (though another daughter disputes that claim).
• The Cult of NatureBoy (Hulu) - This is not a show about pro wrestling legend Ric “Nature Boy” Flair. It’s about Eligio Bishop, a dude who convinced people to give up their lives for a supposedly live-off-the-land kind of life, but of course it went sideways. (There’s also a good set of episodes of the podcast Behind the Bastards that covered the same topic.)
Wednesday
• Widow’s Bay (Apple TV) - Matthew Rhys stars in this hybrid horror/comedy series as the mayor of a New England town who insists that the town isn’t cursed, no matter what the other residents might tell you.
• The House of the Spirits (Prime Video) - A Spanish-language series adaptation of Isabel Allende’s novel, which was previously made into a 1993 film that starred Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons.
• Should I Marry a Murderer? (Netflix) - No. No you shouldn’t.
Thursday
• Man on Fire (Netflix) - Yahya Abdul-Mateen II steps into the lead role for a seven-episode adaptation of the novel by A.J. Quinnell — you may remember the 2004 movie that starred Denzel Washington. (Big week for TV shows based on books previously adapted as movies, I guess). Billie Boulet plays the girl Abdul-Mateen’s former special forces soldier will stop at nothing to protect.
Friday
• Twenty Twenty Six (BritBox) - Hugh Bonneville stars in a mockumentary about the organizing of the forthcoming World Cup (it’s a follow-up to Twenty Twelve, which gave the same treatment to the London Olympics).
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Finales
Tuesday
• 9 p.m.: R.J. Decker (ABC) - A fairly short (nine eipsodes) first season for this show ends, as Scott Speedman’s private eye tackles a case that ties back to the season premiere. The show, based on Carl Hiaasen’s Double Whammy, has been low-key fun so far; no word yet on whether it will get a second season.
Sunday
• 10 p.m.: Watson (CBS) - CBS canceled this show, a Sherlock Holmes-adjacent medical drama starring Morris Chestnut, in late March. The final episode of season two and the series airs tonight.
Sports, 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
• Hoppers - Pixar’s latest is available on demand for a while before it comes to Disney+.
• They Will Kill You - Horror comedy that delivers what the title promises, I’m guessing.
• 3 p.m. ET/noon PT: UEFA Champions League semifinal (Paramount+) - Bayern Munich and defending champion PSG meet in the first leg of their semifinal.
Wednesday
• 3 p.m. ET/noon PT: UEFA Champions League semifinal (Paramount+) - The other semi features Arsenal and Atletico Madrid.
Friday
• Swapped (Netflix) - Michael B. Jordan and Juno Temple are the lead voices in an animated adventure about a little furry guy and a fancy-looking bird who swap bodies.
Saturday
• 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT: Kentucky Derby (NBC/Peacock) - Post time for the 152nd derby is just before 7 p.m. ET. NBC and Peacock will have race day coverage for several hours before that, if you’re into it.
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