The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching
The Crime of the Century
Alex Gibney has carved a niche as the Ken Burns of contemporary scandals. The maker of Going Clear and The Inventor strikes again with a revelatory two-part look at the pharmaceutical industry’s role in sparking and stoking the country’s deadly opioid crisis. Using whistleblowers and previously unseen documents, Gibney alleges widespread criminal behavior by industry players, federal regulators, and elected officials. Monday, May 10, at 9 p.m., HBO
Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer If anything positive comes out of the Covid-19 pandemic, it might be measured in human longevity. This four-part series chronicles the long battle against contagious disease that is meeting new challenges today after quietly doubling life expectancy over the past 100 years. In Episode 1, author Steven Johnson and historian David Olusoga trace the revolution back to inoculation practices pioneered in Africa and carried to America during the slave-trade era. Tuesday, May 11, at 8 p.m., PBS; check local listings Hacks
At last, a series showcasing Jean Smart. The great character actress, who has livened up projects from Designing Women to Fargo, makes the most of her top billing, playing a comedian in Vegas on the downside of her career. Newcomer Hannah Einbinder proves a worthy foil, portraying a young comedy writer brought in to juice up the veteran performer’s flagging act. Available Thursday, May 13, HBO Max
Halston
One name was enough for the first superstar of American fashion. In this new limited series, Ewan McGregor plays the dashing Iowa native who made Jackie Kennedy’s signature pillbox hat as a young milliner and went on to establish a fashion house that prioritized practical elegance and forever changed the way women dress. At Halston’s peak, his days started with celebritypacked lunches and ended well past midnight at Studio 54. And then the 1980s arrived. Available Friday, May 14, Netflix
The Woman in the Window
Amy Adams is having a Rear Window moment. This thriller based on a 2018 best-seller casts her as Anna Fox, an agoraphobic who believes she has witnessed the murder of a neighbor named Jane—only to be contradicted by a woman who says she’s the only Jane who lives in that adjacent home. Anna’s psychological issues, compounded by pills and booze, make her an unreliable narrator for the ages in a movie, once slated for theatrical release, that will put a charge in a night at home. With Gary Oldman and Julianne Moore. Available Friday, May 14, Netflix
Other highlights
Money, Explained
Having already demystified sex and the mind, Vox Media’s Explained franchise tackles the mysteries of finance, in a limited series that exposes how the average citizen gets played. Available Tuesday, May 11, Netflix
Pride
Six LGBTQ directors aim to tell the six-decade story of the gay rights movement in an uplifting docuseries. Friday, May 14, at 8 p.m., FX
Those Who Wish Me Dead
Angelina Jolie stars in a Taylor Sheridan–directed thriller as a smoke jumper who’s taking a break from battling forest fires when she encounters a boy in the wild who’s being chased by assassins. Available Friday, May 14, HBO Max