What to Watch This Week: April 18 to 23

From superhero finales to comedy queens, we round up the top 10 shows to watch this week

1. Roll Up Your Sleeves – Sunday, April 18, 7 p.m., NBC

According to the best scientific evidence, life won’t go back to pre-COVID normal until humankind achieves “herd immunity,” and that means mass vaccinations. Yet there are those, for whatever reason, who are hesitant. This special is aimed at them, dispelling concerns and encouraging naysayers to get jabbed, with the help of actors, comedians, public figures and medical professionals.

2. 56th Academy of Country Music Awards – Sunday, April 18, 8 p.m., Global & CBS

Superstar crooners Mickey Guyton and Keith Urban host this year’s gala, which will be spread across three iconic venues: the Grand Ole Opry House, Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Café. Leading the nominees are Maren Morris and Chris Stapleton with six nods apiece.

3. Younger – Monday, April 19, Amazon Prime Video | Season Premiere

After Liza’s secret (that she’s a 40-something posing as a millennial to get ahead in the publishing world) was finally made public last year, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the producers of Younger have decided to make the show’s seventh season its last. That’s not to say that the characters don’t have more life left in them—in fact, there’s already talk of spinning off Kelsey (Hillary Duff) onto her own show—but far too many series fail to go out while still firing on all thrusters creatively. And Younger is now in a position to do just that.

We know that things pick up pretty much where they left off, i.e. with Liza having received a marriage proposal from Charles that she hasn’t yet accepted (perhaps due to lingering feelings for Josh?). Meanwhile, Kelsey starts to question her career path and the ever-audacious Maggie gets herself “cancelled.”

4. Izzy’s Koala World – Tuesday, April 20, Netflix | Season Premiere

We could all use a little more cuteness in our lives these days, and what’s cuter than seeing a precocious kid rescue koala bears with her mom and pop in Australia?

Meet Izzy Bee, a more-or-less typical 13-year-old who likes to chill with friends and binge a little Netflix. However, as fans learned in season one, Izzy’s got a very atypical calling. She’s known as the Koala Whisperer.

A few years back, her mother Ali (an accredited veterinarian) and father Tim bought an animal clinic, and now the family spends their days rescuing these critters when life on the continent’s Magnetic Island leaves them battered and broken.

Ultimately, fixing the koalas up is the easy part. The bigger challenge: sending them back into the wild after Izzy et al. have fallen in love with these cuddly li’l marsupials.

5. Dazed and Confused – Tuesday, April 20, 4:15 p.m., Starz2

It’s the last day of high school in Austin, Texas, circa 1976, and the seniors are on the hunt for freshmen to torment. But beyond the merciless paddling, all involved are struggling to find their place in the school hierarchy and the world at large.

6. Zero – Wednesday, April 21, Netflix | Series Premiere

The experience of being Black in Italy isn’t one that’s been explored a whole lot onscreen, but it’s the focus of this new Italian series focusing on a shy second-generation Black Italian teen named Rap, who’s always felt invisible. When he suddenly gains the power to become literally invisible, Rap finds himself becoming a reluctant hero, his new abilities not only allowing him to save the neighbourhood, but also teaching him how to open up to the rest of the world.

7. Secrets of the Whales – Thursday, April 22, Disney+ | Series Premiere

When it comes to whales, most people know they’re massive underwater mammals who communicate via song, and—thanks to Star Trek IV—they know that many whale species are endangered. (As of this writing, 13.) Now, National Geographic (via Disney+) helps to expand your knowledge of these creatures with a four-part series that focuses on five key figures in the whale kingdom: orcas, humpbacks, belugas, narwhals and sperm whales. It’s taken three years and trips to 24 regions around the world to compile this epic program, which was produced by—among others—Titanic director James Cameron. (The man knows the ocean!)

8. Doing the Most with Phoebe Robinson – Friday, April 23, 11 p.m. & 11:30 p.m., CTV Comedy

When it comes to the comedy world, there aren’t many mediums left for Phoebe Robinson to conquer. She’s been a TV writer; she’s written two books (You Can’t Touch My Hair and Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay) and penned pieces for Glamour, The New York Times and Vanity Fair; she’s found fame for her blog, Blaria; and in addition to co-hosting—along with Jessica Williams—the podcast 2 Dope Queens, which has since been transformed into an HBO series, she’s also host of her own podcast, Sooo Many White Guys.

Mind you, we haven’t even touched on her standup act or roles in film and television, but we’re running out of space, and we still need to discuss her brand-new talk show!

“I think conversation has been lost a little bit as an art form, so I wanted to bring that back and do it in a way that’s fun,” Robinson teased to Marie Clarie. “I’m not trying to make anyone cry. Like, this isn’t Barbara Walters, you know what I mean? I always say I’m like a low-budget Oprah… Nordstrom Rack version.”

9. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – Friday, April 23, Disney | Season Finale

The first of what will likely be many seasons of this entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe wraps up. As always, fans are advised to watch through all the end credits for the cutscene that teases how the show will connect to Marvel’s future film and television projects.

10. Girl – Friday, April 23, 8 p.m., Crave1

A traumatized young woman (Bella Thorne) returns to her Ontario hometown on a mission to kill her abusive father. But darn the luck, someone’s beaten her to it, and she soon finds herself tangled up in a conspiracy headed by the corrupt local sheriff (Oscar-nominee Mickey Rourke).