This week, once again, is jam-packed with quality TV shows to watch. From a bonkers new show from “Lost” co-creator Damon Lindelof to a new Chris Evans/Ana de Armas romantic action comedy to a doc about Judy Blume. There’s also a new version of “Dead Ringers,” the end of “Picard” and “The Mandalorian” and the beginning of the final season of “Barry” (we already miss him). Plus, a new Keri Russell drama, a series about the aftermath of the Waco tragedy and a movie where a woman zaps into alternate dimensions while getting busy. Truly, we live in a blessed time.
On with the television!
Mrs. Davis
Thursday, April 20, Peacock
Ready to get weird? “Mrs. Davis” might be the strangest – and one of the best – television shows this year. Created by Damon Lindelof and Tara Hernandez, the simplest way to describe the series is that it’s about a nun named Simone (played by Betty Gilpin) who is fighting an evil algorithm called Mrs. Davis. But, of course, there is plenty more to the series, including a band of hyper-masculine freedom fighters (led by Jake McDorman’s Wiley, who happens to be Simone’s childhood crush) and a quest to find the Holy Grail. (Don’t ask.) We’d say more but part of the joy of the series is watching it veer off into unexpectedly nutty directions, all while maintaining the essential humanity and emotional through line. It’s never weird for weirdness’ sake. Lindelof is known for shows obsessed with mystery (“Watchmen,” “Lost,” “The Leftovers”) and with “Mrs. Davis” he is plumbing the depths of what makes humanity unknowable. It’s so lively and energetic and fun it makes the rest of the shows released this week (and, indeed, the rest of shows currently airing) seem predictable and safe. What’s more, you can do a mini-binge this week, with the first four episodes streaming on April 20, followed by new episodes weekly (the finale streams on May 18). Get your wings. [TRAILER]
Star Trek: Picard / The Mandalorian
Thursday, April 20, Paramount+ / Wednesday, April 19, Disney+
This week TV’s biggest sci-fi series – “Star Trek: Picard” and “The Mandalorian” – come to an end. Nerds everywhere will be weeping. The two shows are fascinating in their attempts to woo a dedicated, preestablished fan base and how, in their current seasons, they have diverged in terms of audience and critical acceptance. “The Mandalorian,” the first ever “Star Wars” live-action series that became one of Disney+’s flagship series after it launched alongside the streaming service, has taken a dip this season, with critics and audiences complaining about its meandering plotlines and lack of narrative drive. (Also are we ever going to see Pedro Pascal’s face again?) On the other hand, after two seasons which were enjoyable but not homeruns, “Picard” finally found its voice, oddly enough by embracing what it had been so resistant to in earlier seasons – becoming a full-on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” sequel. But instead of being pandering, there is actually some real emotional heft to getting the gang back together and going on another intriguing space adventure. Can’t wait to see how they both wrap up. [TRAILER / TRAILER]
Ghosted
Friday, April 21, Apple TV+
Who’s in the mood for a good old fashioned high concept romantic action comedy? In “Ghosted,” Chris Evans plays Cole, a nerdy dude who is smitten with Ana de Armas’ Sadie. When she seemingly ghosts him, he travels to London to surprise her. Of course, once he gets there, he gets the surprise – she’s actually an international spy, caught up in a very dangerous espionage plot. That’s fun, right? (The script is by the teams behind “Deadpool” and the most recent “Spider-Man” trilogy.) The supporting cast includes Adrien Brody, Mike Moh, Tim Blake Nelson, Amy Sedaris and Burn Gorman and it was directed by Dexter Fletcher, the former Guy Ritchie confederate who directed “Eddie the Eagle,” “Rocketman” and parts of “Bohemian Rhapsody” when Bryan Singer flamed out. “Ghosted” sees Fletcher helming a big, commercial blockbuster for Apple and Skydance. Could “Ghosted” be “True Lies” for the modern era? We certainly hope so. [TRAILER]
Judy Blume Forever
Friday, April 21, Prime Video
Judy Blume is really having a moment. There’s a feature version of “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” opening at the end of April (starring Rachel McAdams) and there’s a feature-length documentary about the life and work of the groundbreaking young adult novelist. The documentary, from Ron Howard’s Imagine Documentaries, features archival footage of the author alongside talking head interviews with Lena Dunham, Molly Ringwald, Anna Konkle, Samantha Bee, Mary H.K. Choi, Jacqueline Woodson, Blume’s two children and adult women who corresponded with Blume when they were teens. Will you cry? Probably! [TRAILER]
Dead Ringers (1988)
Peacock
With a new version of “Dead Ringers” debuting on Prime Video, why not revisit the David Cronenberg original (on Peacock)? In the original film, Jeremy Irons (who would reunite with Cronenberg several years later for an underrated version of “M. Butterfly”) plays twin gynecologists in New York City whose grasp on reality begins to slip. Geneviève Bujold plays the woman caught between the two men (a decade after she faced similar medical-adjacent thrills in “Coma”). It’s based on the novel “Twins” by Bari Wood and Jack Geasland, a fictionalized account of the lives of real-life twin New York gynecologists (and serious drug addicts) Stewart and Cyril Marcus. Leave it to David Cronenberg to turn a weird story into one that is downright unsettling. We’ll see if the new streaming remake can live up. [WATCH]
“Barry”
Sunday, April 16 at 10 p.m., HBO
Time to say goodbye to “Barry.” The fourth season of the show, co-created, starring and (this season) directed entirely by Bill Hader, sees Barry, the conflicted hitman, in jail for his crimes. How is he going to get out of this one? And more importantly – is redemption even possible? Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg, Anthony Carrigan and Henry Winkler all return for the final go-around, which promises to be just as intense and hilarious as the seasons that came before it. [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW]
“Waco: The Aftermath”
Sunday, April 16 at 10 p.m., Showtime
A follow-up to 2018’s “Waco” miniseries, “Waco: The Aftermath” follows the trial of the surviving members of the Branch Davidians and the unease and tension between average folks and the government in the days and months that followed, leading to the Oklahoma City bombing, which happened on the second anniversary of the siege. (Timothy McVeigh was actually at the compound during the siege; he was selling white nationalist bumper stickers and other chotchkes.) This new series stars Michael Shannon, John Leguizamo, J. Smith-Cameron, Abbey Lee, Shea Whigham, Gary Cole and Sasheer Zamata. [TRAILER]
“The Diplomat”
Thursday, April 20, Netflix
Keri Russell is back! Russell, who starred in “Felicity” and “The Americans” (and is coming off the sleeper hit “Cocaine Bear”), has a new project that is much closer to the latter than the former. In “The Diplomat,” she plays the U.S. Ambassador in England, forced to de-escalate potential international incidents, all while attempting to keep her marriage together (she’s wed to Rufus Sewell, a former ambassador). Rory Kinnear, Miguel Sandoval and Michael McKean also star. Will it be too soapy? Or not soapy enough? You decide! [TRAILER]
“Dead Ringers”
Friday, April 21, Prime Video
For the TV version of the David Cronenberg classic (see above), the gender of the gynecologists has been flipped, with Rachel Weisz essaying the roles of Beverly and Elliot Mantle. British playwright Alice Birch, who wrote the terrific early Florence Pugh film “Lady Macbeth” and episodes of “Succession” and “Normal People,” spearheaded this new version (she also wrote the first and second episodes), with filmmakers like Sean Durkin (who directed “Martha Marcy May Marlene”), Karyn Kusama (“Jennifer’s Body”) and Lauren Wolkstein (“The Strange Ones”) helming episodes. It might not be as perverse and unnerving as the Cronenberg original but if it even gets close, that’ll be a huge accomplishment. [TRAILER]
“Slip”
Friday, April 21, Roku Channel
Zoe Lister-Jones, the incredibly talented actor (who you might remember from series like “New Girl,” “Life in Pieces” or “Whitney”) and filmmaker (seriously, watch “The Craft: Legacy,” it’s terrific), created and stars in this new high-concept series. In the show she plays a woman who travels to an alternate universe every time she, um, climaxes, revealing possible paths her life could have gone down and leading her to search for which outcome she finds most appealing. Sort of like “Quantum Leap” but hornier. Emily Hampshire, hunky “Willow” standout Amar Chadha-Patel and Whitmer Thomas also star. This could be a sleeper sensation. Certainly, enough people have a Roku – in this and any other dimension. [TRAILER]
