What to Watch this Weekend: Join Homeland for one last mission

EW Staff
·8 min read

We know TV has a lot to offer, be it network, cable, premium channels, or streaming platforms including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Facebook Watch, and others. So EW is here to help, guiding you every single day to the things that should be on your radar. Check out our recommendations below, and click here to learn how you can stream our picks via your own voice-controlled smart-speaker (Alexa, Google Home) or podcast app (Spotify, iTunes, Google Play).

FRIDAY

After Life

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Netflix

Season Premiere

“I’m trying to be more Zen,” notes widower and recovering arsehole Tony (Ricky Gervais) in the season 2 premiere of Netflix’s bittersweet, uplifting comedy. Even as he continues to mourn the death of his wife Lisa (Kerry Godliman), Tony realizes that “everyone’s struggling” in some way, and he vows to “help the people who helped me.” Of course, life isn’t about to make it easy for him to shed his acerbic outlook. The six new episodes spend more time with After Life’s ensemble of loveable eccentrics, including sex worker Roxy (Roisin Conaty), clueless postman Pat (Joe Wilkinson), and of course the “200-pound, sort of human slug” (Tony’s words) known as Lenny (the brilliantly hangdog Tony Way). Though the will-they, won’t-they developments between Tony and nurse Emma (Ashley Jensen) fall a little flat, Gervais allows his caustic hero to evolve without sacrificing too much of the comedy’s brutal humor. (Special shout-out to Annette Crosbie, whose turn as a foul-mouthed, 100-year-old woman in the season premiere is spit-take worthy.) —Kristen Baldwin

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Defending Jacob

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Apple TV+

Series Debut

In Apple TV+’s latest drama, Andy (Chris Evans) and Laurie Barber (Michelle Dockery) are two parents who just want to protect their child. The problem is, their child (played by Jaeden Martell) has been accused of murdering one of his classmates. The series, based on William Landay’s book, is equal parts mystery and emotional thriller as the entire Barber family starts to question how well they know their loved ones. —Samantha Highfill

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Extraction

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Netflix

MCU star Chris Hemsworth has taken his talents to Netflix for the streamer's new action film. Hemsworth plays Tyler Rake, a mercenary who is sent to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned crime lord. But getting the kid back is the easy part, as an entire city attempts to keep them from escaping alive. —Derek Lawrence

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What Else to Watch

Streaming

Beastie Boys Story (documentary) — Apple TV+

Making the Cut (season finale) — Amazon Prime Video

Star Wars: The Clone Wars — Disney+

Harley Quinn — DC Universe

Yours Sincerely, Kanan Gill — Netflix

Enemy Lines (movie) — VOD

To the Stars (movie) — Digital

Robert the Bruce (movie) — Digital/VOD

True History of the Kelly Gang (movie) — Digital/VOD

7 p.m.

2020 NFL Draft (Rounds 2-3) — ABC, ESPN, NFL Network

8 p.m.

The Blacklist — NBC

MacGyver — CBS

RuPaul's Drag Race — VH1

9 p.m.

Magnum P.I. — CBS

Lionsgate Live! A Night at the Movies: Dirty Dancing — YouTube

9:30 p.m.

RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race (series debut) — VH1

10 p.m.

Real Time With Bill Maher — HBO

Blue Bloods — CBS

SATURDAY

Bad Education

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 8 p.m. on HBO

This searing dramedy from director Cory Finley (known for 2018's terrific Thoroughbreds) dramatizes the real-life embezzlement scandal at Long Island's Roslyn School District. When a student reporter (played by Blockers' Geraldine Viswanathan) begins to dig into the story, superintendent Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) must deal with the fallout and attempt to protect the school district, his fellow administrators... and himself. Written and directed with panache, Bad Education also features a superb cast, with Allison Janney, Ray Romano, and Alex Wolff alongside Jackman, who gives one of his best performances in a tricky, complex role. Thank the movie gods he did this one instead of Cats. —Tyler Aquilina

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What Else to Watch

8 p.m.

Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta (season finale) — TLC

9 p.m.

MatchMaker Mysteries: A Fatal Romance — Hallmark Movies & Mysteries

Hustlers (TV debut) — Showtime

10 p.m.

My Paranormal Nightmare (series debut) — Travel Channel

The Road to Change: America’s Climate Crisis — CNN

SUNDAY

American Idol

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 8 p.m. on ABC

ABC's singing competition is moving on in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, which caused production on this show (and most of Hollywood) to shut down. Now, performers in the Top 20 will perform from home — judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan will all also be remote, as will host Ryan Seacrest and mentor Bobby Bones — vying for America's vote with performances that are much more stripped down from what audiences are used to at this stage of the game. Speaking of votes, they're super important this week, because — SHOCKING TWIST! [gasp] — next weekend, 20 will become a Top 10. You'll wanna quaran-tune in for this! —Gerrad Hall

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Homeland

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 9 p.m. on Showtime

Series Finale

Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) and Saul Berenson’s (Mandy Patinkin) complicated professional and personal relationship comes dramatically to a head in the series finale of Showtime’s CIA drama Homeland. In last week’s penultimate episode, Carrie was told there was only one way to gain critical evidence from the Russians that can prevent a new war in the Middle East: Murder her longtime mentor. The gripping final episode sticks the landing with a tense and emotional farewell to the series, and a bold and fitting ending for Mathison. Afterward, be sure to come to EW.com to read our deep-dive interview with showrunner Alex Gansa. —James Hibberd

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Penny Dreadful: City of Angels

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 10:10 p.m. on Showtime

Series Debut

We here at EW prefer our pennies dreadful. And City of Angels has plenty of that. Apologies to the Eva Green hive, but Penny Dreadful: City of Angels is not a continuation of the gothic horror story that came to an abrupt, if planned end in 2016. Though this “spiritual descendant” does also feature a leading lady who dresses in black and can serve a fierce smize. Instead of vampires and werewolves and Frankenstein’s monster (oh my!), the new show from creator John Logan delves into Mexican folklore. As the sister of Santa Muerte, the Holy Angel of Death, shape-shifting demon Magda (Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer) is ready to prove just how trash at heart humans really are by using three different forms to incite a race war in 1970s Los Angeles. At the center of the chaos is Tiago Vega (Here & Now’s Daniel Zovatto), trying to decide which path to follow. Will he fulfill his public duty as the first Chicano LAPD detective on the force, or will he join his family in fighting the racism percolating throughout his city? Whichever he chooses, this penny is definitely dreadful… dreadfully addictive. —Nick Romano

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What Else to Watch

Streaming

The Last Kingdom (season premiere) — Netflix

7 p.m.

Deadly Cults (season premiere) — Oxygen

8 p.m.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta — Bravo

90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days — TLC

Outlander — Starz

God Friended Me (series finale) — CBS

Batwoman — The CW

The Wall — NBC

The Simpsons — Fox

When Calls the Heart (season finale) — Hallmark

8:30 p.m.

Duncanville — Fox

9 p.m.

Belgravia — Epix

Bob's Burgers — Fox

Killing Eve — BBC America/AMC

Westworld — HBO

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist — NBC

Vida (final season premiere) — Starz

The Last Dance (eps 3-4) — ESPN

9:30 p.m.

Family Guy — Fox

10 p.m.

Insecure — HBO

Magic Caught on Camera (series debut) — Travel Channel

The Rookie — ABC

NCIS: Los Angeles (season finale/special time) — CBS

Good Girls — NBC

10:30 p.m.

Run — HBO

*times are ET and subject to change