What to Watch This Week: March 12 to 17

From Simu Liu returning to host the 2023 Juno Awards to the highly anticipated new season of Ted Lasso, we round up our top 10 shows to watch this week

From Simu Liu returning to host the 2023 Juno Awards to the highly anticipated new season of ‘Ted Lasso’, we round up our top 10 shows to watch this week

1. The Last of Us – Sunday, March 12, HBO Canada | Season Finale

The Last of UsHBO CanadaIn the past eight episodes, Joel and Ellie have gone from smuggler and cargo to father and daughter. Now, in the finale, Joel must decide just how far he’ll go to save the girl who gave his life meaning again, with the fate of humanity on the line.

2. The Juno Awards – Monday, March 13, CBC

The Juno AwardsCBCSimu Liu returns for his second consecutive year as host of this annual celebration of the best in Canadian music, airing live from Rogers Place in Edmonton. Highlights include Nickelback’s induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (followed by a once-in-a-lifetime performance), along with performances from Alexisonfire, AP Dhillon, Aysanabee, Banx & Ranx together with Preston Pablo and Rêve, Jessie Reyez, Tate McRae, Tenille Townes and more.

3. Bert Kreischer: Razzle Dazzle – Tuesday, March 14, Netflix

Bert Kreischer: Razzle DazzleNetflixThere aren’t a lot of standup comedians you can identify simply by the sight of them baring their chest hair, but in fairness, Bert Kreischer kind of stands alone in his field in terms of comics with a tendency to go shirtless before saying their goodnights, and even fewer do it within the first minute of their special, as Kreischer does here. “Taking my shirt off is so my comfort zone,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “Honestly, I feel so much more relaxed without a shirt on, you’d be shocked.” Filmed at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, Razzle Dazzle was directed by Jeff Tomsic, who also executive-produces. This time around, Kreischer’s material focuses on being bullied by his kids, bodily emissions and the explosive ending to his family’s escape room outing, along with a myriad of other amusing topics.

4. Gotham Knights – Wednesday, March 15, Showcase & The CW | Series Premiere

Gotham KnightsShowcaseWhat would Gotham City look like without the Dark Knight to fend off the wacky “Rogues’ Gallery” forever terrorizing its citizens? That very question kicked off the idea for this series, which welcomes the next generation of tortured, ostentatious caped crusaders. We pick up in the wake of Bruce Wayne’s murder, which his adoptive son Turner Hayes (Oscar Morgan) is framed for. As district attorney Harvey Dent (Supernatural alum Misha Collins) and the Gotham cops try to track the kid down, he relies on a few friends to keep him safe… friends who happen to be the children of Batman’s supervillainous enemies.

When they all learn that the Court of Owls, a nefarious underworld cabal, is aiming to take advantage of Batman’s death, they go undercover to save the very people who are hunting them. Eventually, these fugitives form the Gotham Knights. But the shadow of the Bat looms large.

5. Ted Lasso – Wednesday, March 15, Apple TV+ | Season Premiere

Ted LassoApple TV+If season three of Ted Lasso isn’t the single best season of television in the history of the medium, it’s inevitably going to be a disappointment. OK, maybe we’re being slightly hyperbolic, but it’s certainly going to feel that way to some. After all, during the course of its first two seasons, the Apple TV+ football comedy developed by Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly and star Jason Sudeikis has twice won the Emmy for Best Comedy Series, but perhaps more importantly, the feel-good, easily bingeable show served as an emotional salve for a world that was battling through a pandemic.

As such, it has been built up so high in the eyes of viewers that they’re all but going to require that it meets their every last expectation… and what show could possibly do that? Still, they’re giving it a go, and whatever viewers end up getting with season three of Ted Lasso, they can count on it being emotionally authentic, since that’s the path that’s led the show’s creators to the success that they’ve found in its first two seasons.

“I have had plenty of stinkers in my past,” Lawrence told Forbes. “Luckily, most were too awful to go on TV. Plenty of my shows didn’t work, but this is a game of never giving up. One thing I learned is that if you chase what you think is popular, it feels inauthentic. With Ted Lasso, we started with something hopeful and optimistic because we needed that, and we’re lucky the show worked.” Season two ended with Ted (Sudeikis) being betrayed by his former assistant coach Nathan (Ted Mohammad), who leaves Richmond to coach for rival club West Ham United, but the bond between the rest of the team remains strong. Will Nathan find his way back by season’s end? Time will tell, but we hope so!

6. Shadow and Bone – Thursday, March 16, Netflix | Season Premiere

Shadow and BoneNetflixIt’s no easy task adapting beloved fantasy novels into TV series. But judging by how this version of Leigh Bardugo’s bestsellers trended into the No. 1 spot on Netflix when it debuted last April… well, the fans have spoken and they are pleased.

Whether the writers can keep up that momentum when all eight second-season episodes drop this week remains to be seen. For those who need a refresher, in the first season, the show introduced us to Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li), a woman who discovered she has the power to summon light. Her first mission? To destroy the Shadow Fold. Meanwhile, we also met a Big Bad named The Darkling (Ben Barnes) and some misfit criminals called The Crows. It all ended on a big cliffhanger, with The Darkling emerging from the Fold even stronger than before. Oh, and he had an army of monsters at his disposal.

When we return, our heroes will learn the baddie they thought they’d defeated is still kicking around, forcing Alina to push further and truly unleash her abilities. Add in a budding romance with her childhood bestie Mal (Archie Renaux), and the stakes are higher than ever—especially when The Darkling poses this ominous question in the trailer: “Are you willing to sacrifice that which is most precious to you?” To vanquish him (for real this time), Alina and Mal will need to track down some ancient mythical beasts known as the Sea Whip and Firebird, meeting a few fellow unlikely heroes along the way.

Season two is based on material from multiple novels, including Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising. “There’s a piece that’s integral to the story that I’m particularly excited about,” showrunner Eric Heisserer teased to Entertainment Weekly. “I don’t think fans are gonna see that one coming ’cause it’s a pretty deep cut.”

7. Dance 100 – Friday, March 17, Netflix | Series Premiere

Dance 100NetflixWe’ve seen plenty of TV dance competitions over the years, from celebrities pairing up with pros to learn the foxtrot and win over a voting audience to amateurs hoping to take their skills to the next level by winning over seasoned judges. But you know that when Netflix takes a stab at any reality subgenre, they always take things to a fresh level of absurdity.

Enter Dance 100, the latest rhythm battle that flips the switch by asking contestants not to dance their way to a top spot, but to choreograph their way there instead. We meet eight accomplished dancers in the premiere who have shaken their booties for global superstars like Rihanna, Ricky Martin and Kelly Clarkson. On this show, however, they’re putting on their choreographer caps to guide fellow seasoned two-steppers in the art of street dance.

The twist? The dancers they’re schooling will also serve as the show’s judges, choosing which choreographer has the best routine (and instruction) each week. All told, it really blurs the line between coach and contestant.

As the competition continues, things only get more challenging as the group of dancers swells from 7, to 14, to 20, 25, 50 and so on. Naturally, the nature of the routines also gets more complicated. But the dancers themselves are legit pros who have worked with legends like Cardi B, Lizzo and Missy Elliott, so they know their stuff; if the choreographer can’t get them in sync, that’s on them. At stake is $100,000, but should these players require any more motivation, their host, celebrity Peloton instructor Ally Love, will be able to oblige.

8. Swarm – Friday, March 17, Prime Video | Series Premiere

SwarmPrime VideoCreated by Atlanta’s Donald Glover, this new series takes a bleak look at fame, with Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah) starring as Dre, a young woman whose overwhelming obsession with a Beyoncé-like pop star winds up taking her to some very dark and highly unexpected places.

9. Boston Strangler – Friday, March 18, Disney+

Boston StranglerDisney+This true crime thriller revisits one of the most notorious serial killers of the 20th century, the infamous Boston Strangler who left numerous women dead while terrorizing Beantown between 1962 and 1964. The film stars Keira Knightley as Loretta McLaughlin, a reporter for the Record-American newspaper which was based in Massachusetts—and the first journalist who was able to piece together the clues that would ultimately connect the seemingly random killings as part of a serial wave of terror.

McLaughlin teamed up with Jean Cole (Carrie Coon), who was both a colleague and close confidante, in order to further her investigations. Meanwhile, both women faced the domineering sexism and misogyny that typified the era. “It was a really monumental story for her in her career in the early 1960s,” explained Boston Strangler director Matt Ruskin in a recent interview with Collider. “She was a very ambitious reporter in a male-dominated field and this was a real turning point for her.”

10. Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with David Letterman – Friday, March 17, Disney+

Bono and The Edge: A Sort of HomecomingDisney+Making its debut on St. Patrick’s Day, this documentary special from Oscar-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?) captures Dave Letterman on his first visit to Dublin, Ireland. Cameras follow the talk-show legend as he hangs out with U2 frontman Bono and guitarist The Edge in their hometown, experiencing Dublin while joining the two musicians for a concert performance unlike any they’ve done before. In addition to the performance itself, the special focuses on the extraordinary relationship between Bono and The Edge, exploring how it has developed across 45-plus years of close friendship and evolved into one of the most remarkable songwriting partnerships in the history of rock. As viewers experience Dublin through Letterman’s eyes, he narrowly escapes having to participate in a singalong at the legendary McDaid’s pub off Grafton Street. “Recently, I won a radio contest,” quipped Letterman. “Winner gets to visit Dublin with Bono and The Edge (radio contest part not true, but I feel like a winner). They showed me around, introduced me to their musician friends, and performed some of their greatest songs in a small theatre. It’s a great tour. Get in touch with them—I’m told there are still availabilities. I’m the luckiest man on the planet. (There are no availabilities).”