What to Watch this Weekend: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is back for season 2
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FRIDAY
The Underground Railroad
HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
Series Debut
Oscar-winning Moonlight director Barry Jenkins adapting a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead into a limited series is one hell of a selling point for prospective viewers in the know. Given the subject matter of an enslaved woman escaping the plantation and traversing through some of the most sinister parts of Antebellum south, the show is of course brutal when the narrative calls for it, but there's some beauty in the bruises. As Cora, newcomer Thuso Mbedu blossoms on screen as the character learns how Black people find ways to survive, and how to thrive too. —Marcus Jones
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High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Disney+
Season Premiere
Why wait until May 21 to hear Olivia Rodrigo's first album Sour when you can hear her sing new songs on season 2 of Disney+'s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, debuting a full week earlier? Rodrigo is back and better than ever as Nini, and if you've been following the wild internet rumors about her and costar Joshua Bassett, you'll get a real kick out of seeing their characters in a real relationship for the first time on the show. And it's time to get'cha head in the game because auditions for the new East High musical are nigh, and the last minute change to Beauty and the Beast is not what the theater kids are expecting. Talk about drama! —Sydney Bucksbaum
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Those Who Wish Me Dead
HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on HBO Max
Angelina Jolie is heading into the wilderness. The actress stars in this tense thriller from writer-director Taylor Sheridan, centering on an expert smokejumper (Jolie) keeping watch for forest fires in the Montana woods. When she encounters runaway teen Connor (Finn Little), the unlikely pair find themselves caught up in a fatal conspiracy, racing to outrun two approaching assassins and one very deadly wildfire. —Devan Coggan
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Halston
HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Netflix
Series Debut
Daniel Minahan has been trying to make Halston, this weekend's new five-episode miniseries starring Ewan McGregor as the famed fashion designer, in some form for 25 years. You read that right. It was in the late 1990s when the filmmaker was readying to make this as a movie. But, as anyone who works in Hollywood knows, projects fall in and out of development all the time. And no matter all the years that went by, he found himself returning to the material again and again until he finally was able to make it a reality with Netflix and executive producer Ryan Murphy. Now, we can see McGregor's Roy Halston in all his glory, in all his sadness, in all his sex- and drug-addled darkness, and, of course, with all his flowing couture. And with the world of Halston comes other figures in and around the realm of Studio 54, including Liza Minnelli (as played by Krysta Rodriguez). —Nick Romano
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The Woman in the Window
HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Netflix
Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by A.J. Finn, this long-gestating thriller features Amy Adams as an agoraphobic and possibly unreliable child psychologist who finds herself keeping tabs on the picture perfect family across the street through the windows of her New York City brownstone. Her life is turned upside down when she inadvertently witnesses a brutal crime while watching them. The problem is, no one believes her, including the family across the street. The all-star cast also includes Julianne Moore, Wyatt Russell, Anthony Mackie, Gary Oldman, Fred Hechinger, Brian Tyree Henry, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Tracy Letts. Come for the star power, stay for the twists, turns, and major camp. —Lauren Huff
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Hear more on all of this weekend's must-see picks, plus what Evan Peters is watching, in EW's What to Watch podcast, hosted by Gerrad Hall.
What Else to Watch
Movies
Dope Is Death (doc) — VOD
High Ground — VOD
The Killing of Two Lovers — VOD
North Hollywood — VOD
Us Kids (doc) — VOD
Check local listings
We Are Family: Songs of Hope and Unity (special) — PBS
8 p.m.
The Queen Carries On — A Gayle King Special — CBS
Pride (docuseries debut) — FX
9 p.m.
Blue Bloods (2-hour season finale) — CBS
Dynasty — The CW
Dateline ("A Wanted Man") — NBC
10 p.m.
Black Love (season premiere) — OWN
11 p.m.
A Black Lady Sketch Show — HBO
SATURDAY
Saturday Night Live
HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC
Controversial Tesla CEO Elon Musk may have taken over 30 Rock last week, but for SNL's next host, the show is tapping someone with decidedly more comedy experience. Keegan-Michael Key is a sketch comedy expert who built his career on MADtv before headlining as one-half of Key & Peele, but this weekend, he'll make his first trip to Studio 8H, hosting the penultimate episode of the season. He'll be joined by "Drivers License" singer Olivia Rodrigo as musical guest. —DC
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What Else to Watch
8 p.m.
China: Nature's Ancient Kingdom (series debut) — BBC America
Secrets on Sorority Row (movie) — Lifetime
9 p.m.
Sweet Carolina (movie) — Hallmark Channel
SUNDAY
American Idol
HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 8 p.m. on ABC
After covering Coldplay and a round of songs dedicated to their moms last week, the remaining finalists will again perform twice this weekend — one song inspired by their own personal idol, and an original for the second. Mentoring them will be Grammy-winning songwriter/producer/artist Finneas, who will also perform, not with sister Billie Eilish but friend/collaborator/singer/songwriter Ashe. And only one contestant, not two, will be eliminated, as Caleb Kennedy exited earlier this week after a controversial video surfaced. —Gerrad Hall
ABC/Eric McCandless
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Run the World
HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 8:30 p.m. on Starz
Series Debut
It's been an event every time a pivotal show about Black female friendship has made it to streaming, from Living Single coming to Hulu to Girlfriends arriving on Netflix. How about we give those shows their flowers now though? Starz provides a new addition to the canon featuring Amber Stevens West, Bresha Webb, Andrea Bordeaux, and Corbin Reid as four best friends based in Harlem who together navigate their way through the hookups, heartbreaks, and career woes that come with being in one's 30s. —MJ
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MTV Movie & TV Awards
HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 9 p.m. on MTV
Wait… isn't awards season over? Not until MTV has had its say. Leslie Jones is hosting the 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards, which are returning after a year off due to COVID. WandaVision leads the nominees with five nods, followed by Amazon's The Boys and Netflix's Emily in Paris with four, while Borat Subsequent Moviefilm heads up the movie nominees with three. (Also, Emily in Paris noms notwithstanding, MTV succeeded where the Golden Globes failed in nominating Michaela Coel for I May Destroy You.) Tune in for all the great MTV categories you can't get anywhere else (Best Kiss, Best Fight, etc.) and to see whether Barb and Star can snag Best Duo. —Tyler Aquilina
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Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 9 p.m. on NBC
Season Finale
What is it with Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist making us cry with heartbreaking goodbyes in every season finale? Last season saw Zoey (Jane Levy) lose her father Mitch (Peter Gallagher) and this season finale, she's forced to say goodbye to her best friend (and potential love of her life) Max (Skylar Astin) as he leaves for New York. Is this the end of Zoey and Max for good? Sing it with us: say it ain't so-o-o-o-o! —SB
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What Else to Watch
Streaming
The Ambies (podcast awards) — YouTube/Twitch
8 p.m.
Biography: Shawn Michaels — A&E
Shahs of Sunset (season premiere) — Bravo
DC's Legends of Tomorrow — The CW
Ellen's Game of Games — NBC
The Girlfriend Experience — Starz
8:30 p.m.
The Great North (season finale) — Fox
9 p.m.
The Nevers (season finale) — HBO
City on a Hill (season finale) — Showtime
Confronting a Serial Killer (season finale) — Starz
9:30 p.m.
Family Guy (season finale) — Fox
10 p.m.
The Rookie (season finale) — ABC
Fall River (docuseries debut) — Epix
Mare of Easttown — HBO
Couples Therapy (season finale) — Showtime
Death and Nightingales (limited series debut) — Starz
*times are ET and subject to change
We know TV has a lot to offer, be it network, cable, premium channels, or streaming platforms including Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and others. So EW is here to help, guiding you every single day to the things that should be on your radar. Be sure to listen/subscribe to our What to Watch podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Player FM, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts, or via your own voice-controlled smart-speaker (Alexa, Google Home).
