The Week ’s guide to what’s worth watching
Palm Royale
Palm Beach’s most exclusive club is tough to get into, especially without money, fame, or legacy. In this new comedy series, set in 1969, Kristen Wiig’s Maxine Simmons is determined to win access anyway, and to win over the local socialites, including the queen bee played by Allison Janney. With the help of some insiders, Maxine makes headway, only for the stakes to rise. Laura Dern, Carol Burnett, and Ricky Martin co-star. Wednesday, March 20, Apple TV+
Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told
Launched in the 1980s as a spring break picnic for students from historically Black colleges and universities, Freaknik became the largest, wildest party Atlanta has ever seen. The annual event was “the greatest Black gathering in America,” Lil Jon says in this documentary, but as its popularity snowballed, incidents of violence, including sexual assault, ruined the party for all. Freaknik’s founders, joined by celebrities including CeeLo Green, Rasheeda, and Jalen Rose, recount how a good thing went bad. Thursday, March 21, Hulu
Road House
Doug Liman, director of The Bourne Identity, has remade the 1989 Patrick Swayze cult classic, and the result is a fun, hard-punching action thriller. Jake Gyllenhaal carries the project as Dalton, a down-and-out former UFC fighter who takes a gig as a bouncer at a Florida Keys bar. The job gets hairier when a gangster bent on a takeover hires a mercenary, played by real-life MMA fighter Conor McGregor, to take Dalton out. Thursday, March 21, Prime
The Long Shadow
The streaming world overflows with true-crime stories that treat serial killers as protagonists. This limited-series drama flips the script, putting the focus on the female victims of Peter Sutcliffe, the 1970s British serial killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper. The women’s lives before their encounters with Sutcliffe are fully dramatized, deepening the tragedy of the events depicted. Toby Jones and David Morrissey co-star as leaders of the investigation, which stretched on for five years owing to misogynist attitudes about the sex workers Sutcliffe targeted. Thursday, March 21, AMC+/ Sundance Now
Shirley
As America’s first Black congresswoman, Shirley Chisholm was a potent force. Director John Ridley’s new biopic focuses on the year Chisholm set her sights higher, launching a bid for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination. Regina King, in the title role, embodies Chisholm’s refusal to trim her ambitions in the face of long odds. Lance Riddick, Lucas Hedges, and Terrence Howard co-star. Friday, March 22, Netflix
Other highlights Top Chef
Korean-American chef Kristen Kish—a onetime series winner—replaces Padma Lakshmi as host for the cooking showdown’s 21st season. Wednesday, March 20, at 9 p.m., Bravo
2024 NCAA Basketball Tournaments
March Madness officially begins with the first round of men’s games, tipping off a long weekend of action that will narrow each of the men’s and women’s fields to a Sweet Sixteen. Thursday, March 21, at noon
Davey & Jonesie’s Locker
In an absurdly funny fantasy series, two teen outcasts—already best friends forever—stumble into dangerous alternate realities right inside their high school. Friday, March 22, Hulu