What to Watch This Week: February 17 to 22

From top new talent to back-up singer struggles, we round up the top 10 shows to watch this week

From top new talent to back-up singer struggles, we round up the top 10 shows to watch this week

1. Don’t Be Tardy… – Sunday, February 17, 6 p.m. & 6:30 p.m. (repeating at 9 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.), Slice I Season Premiere

It’s been more than a decade since we first met single-mother Kim Zolciak and her two daughters on the inaugural season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, and oh, how times have changed. Not only is the reality star now married (to former pro footballer Kroy Biermann), she also has four more children, she suffered a life-changing stroke a couple of years ago while filming Dancing With the Stars, and she’s had a few… uh… procedures to enhance her appearance along the way.

Then of course there’s the fact that she left her fellow Housewives in 2012 to focus on this spinoff, which debuts season seven this week. This year, the Biermann clan is looking at some big milestones, including Kim’s 40th birthday, her eldest daughter Brielle turning 21, and her other daughter Ariana falling in love and nabbing her very first boyfriend.

Kim’s also spending a good chunk of the season focusing on launching a new coffee business and getting back into the country music game, which leaves her husband worrying she’s got a bit too much on the go.

2. Elvis All-Star Tribute – Sunday, February 17, 9 p.m., NBC

Blake Shelton plays host to a star-studded Elvis Presley tribute lineup that includes Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez, John Legend, Ed Sheeran, Alessia Cara, Pistol Annies, Little Big Town, Josh Groban, Shawn Mendes, Darius Rucker and more.

3. America’s Got Talent: The Champions – Monday, February 18, 8 p.m., CTV2 & NBC

Comedy, ventriloquism, singing, circus acts: this all-star season of the wildly popular talent series hasn’t just featured it all—it’s featured the best. So how are we supposed to choose one act to take home the crown? That’s the task audiences will have this week as the champion of Champions is revealed.

4. Manifest – Monday, February 18, 10 p.m., City & NBC I Season Finale

Not since we were treated to polar bears on a tropical island has a show left us this perplexed. The mystery of Flight 828 comes to a close for now with this week’s finale, but even though the ambitious serialized drama hadn’t been renewed as of press time, all signs point to a second-season takeoff next year.

5. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. – Tuesday, February 19, 5 p.m. & 10:30 p.m., WTVS; 8 p.m., KCTS

Uncovering celebrity ancestry with Dr. Gates has, over the span of five seasons, yielded more than its share of shocks, tears and chuckles. But things always seem to get a touch livelier, and funnier, when the Harvard professor plays host to a comedian or two. Tonight, he’s got three in Seth Meyers, Sarah Silverman and Tig Notaro. The episode is titled, “No Laughing Matter.” We bet these guests will beg to differ.

6. This Is Us – Tuesday, February 19, 9 p.m., CTV & NBC

There never seems to be enough Beth Pearson in our lives, so we’re positively jazzed for this week’s episode. Not only will we learn more about the character’s past, her potential dance roots and her family, but the show is bringing in the big guns in the form of Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show) to play her mother.

7. Survivor – Wednesday, February 20, 8 p.m., Global & CBS I Season Premiere

With almost two decades of Survivor under his belt, host Jeff Probst occasionally has to reflect on what that means from a personal standpoint. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years? What? How old I am I?” he laughs. “As my kids remind me, ‘Old, dad. Really old.’” The eternally youthful Probst remains the common denominator of the long-running series, which returns for its 38th season.

8. 20 Feet from Stardom – Tuesday, February 19, 9 p.m. & Midnight, Knowledge

Behold the backup singers, the supremely talented performers who stand a few feet away from the superstars—yes, OK, based on the title, it’s more like 20 feet, but let’s not quibble—and aid immeasurably in creating the sound of the songs they perform. Yet the average music fan hasn’t the slightest idea what their names are. In 2013, those unsung artists got an overdue chance at the spotlight, thanks to director Morgan Neville, who sat down with Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Stevie Wonder and many others to talk about the individuals whose peerless vocals have meant so much to their material.

9. Desus & Mero – Thursday, February 21, CraveTV I Series Premiere

For more than a little while now, the conversation about late-night talk shows has revolved around their undeniable lack of diversity. U.S. network Showtime and Canadian streaming service CraveTV are doing their part to make a dent in that particular white wall, by offering a weekly platform to comedy duo Desus Nice and The Kid Mero. Having honed their craft via a popular podcast and now-defunct Viceland series, this new show will see the two lifelong pals, “speaking highly off the cuff and chatting with guests at the intersection of pop culture, sports, music, politics and more.”

10. Firebrand – Friday, February 22, Netflix

Bollywood-Hollywood crossover superstar Priyanka Chopra produces this Indian-made Netflix film. It centres on a lawyer (Usha Jadhav) who specializes in “difficult family cases,” while secretly battling to keep her fragile marriage together, following a sexual assault that’s left her with intimacy problems.