TV Top Picks This Week
DON’T MISS: “The Good Lord Bird” _ Ethan Hawke shines in this rollicking seven- part limited series based on James McBride’s 2013 National Book Award winner. Hawke plays legendary abolitionist John Brown in a story told, with humor and imagination, from the point of view of a fictional, cross- dressing slave boy nicknamed “Onion” ( Joshua Caleb Johnson). The kid becomes a member of Brown’s motley group of freedom fighters and eventually finds himself participating in the failed 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry _ one of the catalysts for the Civil War. The cast also includes Daveed Diggs as Frederick Douglass. ( 9 p. m. Sunday, Showtime).
Other bets:
SUNDAY: A latelife romance, family dysfunction and a juicy mystery are the prime ingredients of “Masterpiece: Flesh and Blood.” In this riveting four- part miniseries, Francesca Annis plays a widow who falls hard for a new gentleman friend ( Stephen Rea). But is he up to no good? ( 9 p. m., PBS).
MONDAY: Forget unreliable online matchmaking services. What if a simple test could unequivocally tell you who your one true soulmate, in all the world, is? That’s the intriguing premise of “Soulmates,” a futuristic anthology series that explores the idea of true love and how we define it. ( 10 p. m., AMC).
TUESDAY: In the new sci- fi thriller “Next,” John Slattery plays an unstable Silicon Valley genius who freaks out after discovering that a powerful artificial intelligence he created has gone rogue and just might spell doom for humankind. Can it be stopped? ( 9 p. m., Fox).
WEDNESDAY: Patrick Dempsey returns television in “Devils,” a drama series about the high- stakes world of international finance. He plays a CEO of a powerful bank that is rocked by the sudden death of one of its employees. ( 8 p. m., The CW).
THURSDAY: “Connecting” is a new ensemble sitcom inspired by the coronavirus pandemic. It follows a group of friends who are trying to stay close ( and sane) during the outbreak by turning their weekly Sunday dinners into online hangouts. ( 8 p. m., NBC).
FRIDAY: In the new series “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” a young woman ( Victoria Pedretti) is hired to care for a man’s orphaned niece and nephew after their au pair suffered a tragic death. Lots of creepy things ensue. ( Netflix).
SATURDAY: “My Best Friend’s Bouquet” is a TV movie that follows a hopeless romantic ( Chaley Rose) who captures the bouquet at a wedding and sets her sights on a man she met at the reception who just might be “the one.” But is he? ( 9 p. m., Hallmark).