The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching
Our Towns
Americans are worried about their country, but in many places, they are excited about things that are heading in the right direction close to where they live. Husband-and-wife journalists James and Deborah Fallows toured the land in a small plane to chronicle stories of rebuilding for a book, and now they’ve turned that book into an uplifting documentary. Maybe a brighter future really is being invented in our towns and cities. Tuesday, April 13, at 9 p.m., HBO
The Circle
A show that fuses social media with reality TV might sound like a sign of the apocalypse. But the first season of The Circle was an entertaining, sometimes even revelatory, experiment.
The 2020 hit now returns, assembling a new group of strangers who interact only via a voiceactivated social media platform while each tries to build enough popularity to survive to the next episode. Will anyone just be themselves? Available Wednesday, April 14, Netflix
Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!
Jamie Foxx returns to television to star in a throwback sitcom based on his relationship with his daughter Corinne. Foxx dons disguises to play several side characters while also handling the featured role as a single dad who does his best to raise—and embarrass—his teenage daughter. Foxx’s fellow In Living Color vet David Alan Grier plays the wisecracking grandfather, while Corinne, now 27, serves as a producer. Available Wednesday, April 14, Netflix
Confronting a Serial Killer
Viewers who’ve fueled the “Murder Show” boom will likely know the name Samuel Little. But documentarian Joe Berlinger has found a worthier subject than the staggeringly prolific killer by focusing on Jillian Lauren, a journalist and author who was determined to bring closure to his victims’ families by getting the septuagenarian convict to talk. Her work helped solve many crimes, but exacted a personal toll. Sunday, April 18, at 9 p.m., Starz
Couples Therapy
If only every relationship had its own Dr. Orna Guralnik. Couples Therapy was fly-on-the-wall TV at its most generous and engrossing during its inaugural season, and now Guralnik is back to try to help a new collection of clients: a pregnant single mom and the father of the expected child; a gay couple dealing with one partner’s alcoholism; and a disappointed wife and downtrodden husband who are dealing with preexisting problems plus the stresses of pandemic life. Sunday, April 18, at 10 p.m., Showtime
Other highlights
Big Shot
John Stamos of Full House fame stars in a new series as a hotheaded former NCAA men’s basketball coach who tries to redeem himself by leading a girls’ team at a private high school. Available Friday, April 16, Disney+
2021 Academy of Country Music Awards Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton co-host a big night in Nashville. Maren Morris and Chris Stapleton lead the field with six nominations each. Sunday, April 18, at 8 p.m., CBS
Earth Moods
Earth as we know it isn’t entirely ruined, yet. For proof, tune in to this wordless National Geographic series that sets sweeping views of incredible geographic locations to music. Available Friday, April 16, Disney+